Marshall Plan (1948, Fairly Significant, 7.5/10)
Though many of my classmates think otherwise, I believe that the Marshall Plan was important not only to Canada, but also to every other country in the world. If The Marshall plan did not take place in the history of time, most of Europe would most likely convert to communism. Countries devastated by war such as Italy, Greece, France, Denmark and 12 other, started shifting to the left, hoping for a fast recovery and a brighter future. That is when communism started to seem like a very good idea. If those 16 countries converted to communism it would not be long until other countries, including the U.S and Canada, also started sympathising socialism. After all, that was the true intent of the Marshall plan - to stop the spread of communism that would eventually threaten the capitalist societies of the Western Hemisphere. Also, In 1948, the U.S. allowed ERP aid to be used in purchasing goods from Canada. Canada made over a billion dollars in sales in the first two years of operation.
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Newfoundland (March 1949, Moderately Significant, 6.5/10)
Newfoundland was economically unstable, and wanted aid from Canada. Canada also wanted Newfoundland because it had a strategic location on the Atlantic Ocean. In my opinion this event is moderately significant. It got Newfoundland out of the American Influence, and helped unite the lands of Canada together, creating even a bigger and stronger nation.
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NATO (April 1949, Very Significant, 8/10)
Canada was not only a member of NATO, but also one of it’s initiators. Being a part of NATO was a marked break with Canada's pre-war isolationism, and was the first peacetime alliance Canada had ever joined. However, Canadian officials such as Hume Wrong and Lester B. Pearson and Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent worked in favour of the alliance not only because they wanted to contain the Soviet Union, as did other members, but also because they hoped the treaty would help to eliminate any future conflicts between the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European great powers (France and later on West Germany), where Canada would be pressured into choose sides.
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The Korean War (1950, Slightly Significant, 2/10)
Even though the Korean war devastated the country of Korea, and resulted in deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands, it did not have a significant effect on Canada. The war was fought on foreign grounds, few Canadian soldiers were involved and the war itself was not massive. It resulted in no gains on both sides, with Korea still remaining a divided country.
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The Death of Stalin (1953, Slightly Significant 1/10)
The Death of Stalin shook the communist world, and partially the U.S, however it had barely anything to do with Canada. It was surely a big part of The Cold War, as it proved that communism could survive and function even without it’s supreme ruler Stalin, however his death had little to no effect on Canada, it’s relations with the U.S.S.R and it’s foreign affairs.
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The Suez Crisis (1956, Fairly Significant, 7/10)
Canada played a major role in dealing with the Suez Crisis. Canada and Lester. B. Pearson in particular, were the reason the conflict was resolved peacefully, without escalation. Pearson even won the Nobel Peace prize in 1957 for his actions in Egypt. Pearson suggested a massive UN operation that would help resolve the conflict, saying that “peace is far more than seizing to fire”. On November 6th, UN peacekeepers entered the canal. Pearson’s solution allowed Britain, France and Israel to withdraw their forces out of Egypt without giving up the impression of being defeated. This incident shined new light on Canada, stereotyping it as a peacekeeping country, which is still how Canada is seen today. It also proved to the rest of the world the importance of Canada on the “big stage”.
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The launch of Sputnik (1957, Partly Significant, 4.5-5/10)
The launch of Sputnik meant that the Soviets have won the “Space Race”, they got to space first. This was more important to the U.S, and affected Canada mostly collaterally, however some concerns still floated to the surface. For example, the fact that the Soviet Union was the first to send a satellite into space, meant that the Soviet Union was more advanced technologically and was overall “better” than the Western Countries. Canada was not much involved in the race between the two major superpowers, however the launch of Sputnik proved communism to be “working effectively” and threatened the capitalist societies. This is why it is only moderately significant to the Canadian History.
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Avro Arrow (1958, Slightly Significant, 2/10)
Under the Liberal government, Canada had decided to develop a military defense jet called the Avro Arrow. However, Diefenbaker canceled the project due to the countries interested in buying the aircraft and cost soaring. Nearly 14,000 workers were no longer employed, even though to the government, the decision made financial sense. Diefenbaker supported his decision arguing that he didn't want to fund an industry through federal spending or expand the nuclear arms race. Significance to Canada: Canceling the Arrow made good economic sense, but the effects were felt throughout Canada. Negative public reaction marker the beginning of the decline of Diefenbaker's popularity and led to his defeat.
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The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962, Extremely Significant, 9-9.5/10)
The Cuban Missile Crisis is probably one of the scariest and most known crisis in the history of humankind. During that time, DEFCON level 2 was declared by NORAD. DEFCON level 2 (according to Wikipedia) means that the next step would be nuclear war. It meant that Armed forces were ready to deploy and engage in less than 6 hours. This is the time when everybody was praying to God that the world would live to see another day and that it would not be destroyed by nuclear weapons. This is obviously very significant to Canada, as it would be the next country after the U.S to be bombed by the Soviets in case of a nuclear war breakout (which, as mentioned before, was incredibly close). The damage would be mostly collateral, but it would be extremely severe, most likely wiping off the Canadian-U.S border off the map in the matter of hours. Every Canadian citizen was at max. alert. This is why the Cuban Missile Crisis was very significant to Canadian history.
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The Great Canadian Flag Debate (1964, Moderately Significant, 6.5/10)
The Great Canadian Flag Debate is between “Moderately” and “Fairly” significant to the Canadian history. That is mostly because the new flag showed everybody else that Canada is independent and it made sure that Canada will not get mistaken for Britain anymore. It helped shape the Canadian identity as a country that does not rely on the British Empire, and proved the rest of the world that Canada was not just a British colony anymore, but rather a country that could easily handle itself on its own.
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The FLQ Crisis (1970, Fairly Significant, 7/10)
The FLQ Crisis shook the whole nation. It was (and still is) the only peacetime use of the War Measures Act in Canadian history. It proved that terrorism could happen even in a peaceful country such as Canada. It is also considered to be the biggest crisis in Canada during the 20th century. The October Crisis cause the tensions between Quebec and the english speaking Canada to tighten, and it put pressure on the government to do something about the conflict. However, FLQ lost support after the discovery of Pierre Laporte’s dead body in a trunk outside Saint-Hubert airport (Minister of Immigration and Minister of Labour).
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The Fall of The Berlin Wall (1989, Moderately Significant, 6.5/10)
The fall of the Berlin Wall (with the allowance from the Soviets) reunited Germany and made it a one whole country. The Fall of The Berlin Wall to this day symbolizes the advantage of democracy over tyranny. The advantage of capitalism over communism. It also foreshadows the death and fall of the Soviet Union and communism in general, if not symbolizes it. The Fall of the Berlin Wall meant no more danger and threats to Canada and the U.S. People did not have to be afraid of a sudden nuclear war and total destruction anymore. The Cold War ended, when the Berlin Wall fell (or so do many think).
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