Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 8K views

    Canada Role in World Essay

    Uploaded by

    Kristy Kutev
    Canada has played an important role on the world stage as a peacekeeper and mediator since 1945 through its contributions to international organizations like the UN, NATO, and NORAD. It has supported UN peacekeeping missions, helped establish the UN, and played a key role in resolving crises like the Suez Crisis. While joining military alliances like NATO to counter the Soviet threat during the Cold War, Canada avoided direct involvement in conflicts like the Vietnam War, allowing it to mediate disputes as a middle power. As the postwar order changed with the end of the Cold War, Canada adopted more open immigration policies and continued its role in peacekeeping through the UN.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Canada Role in World Essay

    Uploaded by

    Kristy Kutev
    8K views5 pages
    Canada has played an important role on the world stage as a peacekeeper and mediator since 1945 through its contributions to international organizations like the UN, NATO, and NORAD. It has supported UN peacekeeping missions, helped establish the UN, and played a key role in resolving crises like the Suez Crisis. While joining military alliances like NATO to counter the Soviet threat during the Cold War, Canada avoided direct involvement in conflicts like the Vietnam War, allowing it to mediate disputes as a middle power. As the postwar order changed with the end of the Cold War, Canada adopted more open immigration policies and continued its role in peacekeeping through the UN.

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Canada has played an important role on the world stage as a peacekeeper and mediator since 1945 through its contributions to international organizations like the UN, NATO, and NORAD. It has supported UN peacekeeping missions, helped establish the UN, and played a key role in resolving crises like the Suez Crisis. While joining military alliances like NATO to counter the Soviet threat during the Cold War, Canada avoided direct involvement in conflicts like the Vietnam War, allowing it to mediate disputes as a middle power. As the postwar order changed with the end of the Cold War, Canada adopted more open immigration policies and continued its role in peacekeeping through the UN.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    8K views5 pages

    Canada Role in World Essay

    Uploaded by

    Kristy Kutev
    Canada has played an important role on the world stage as a peacekeeper and mediator since 1945 through its contributions to international organizations like the UN, NATO, and NORAD. It has supported UN peacekeeping missions, helped establish the UN, and played a key role in resolving crises like the Suez Crisis. While joining military alliances like NATO to counter the Soviet threat during the Cold War, Canada avoided direct involvement in conflicts like the Vietnam War, allowing it to mediate disputes as a middle power. As the postwar order changed with the end of the Cold War, Canada adopted more open immigration policies and continued its role in peacekeeping through the UN.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 5

    Kristy

    Kutev
    Block G
    April. 2/07
    Canada’s Role in the
    World From 1945-2000

    Canada has played a very significant and valuable role in the


    world since 1945 and this vital role has continued to this very day.
    Canada is continually being viewed as a peacekeeping and
    peacemaking nation because of its efforts and contributions in
    organizations such as the UN, NATO and NORAD. These contributions
    have given Canada a much larger and more influential role on the
    world stage. Since 1945, Canada has been able to find a comfortable
    role in which it can exercise its middle-power status and still be
    recognized world wide for being a mediator and peacemaker.

    Canada has made considerable contributions in organizations


    such as the UN, NATO and NORAD. The United Nations, or the UN, is an
    organization that promotes social and economic progress and peace
    world-wide. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was
    formed in 1949 and was focused on protecting Western countries from
    the threat of invasion by the Soviet Union. The North American
    Defence System, or NORAD, was an agreement created in 1957
    between Canada and the US. This agreement was designed in order to
    meet and halt the possible threat of Soviet attack on North America.

    The United Nations was formed in April of 1945 and consisted of


    50 countries that all shared the same ideals and basic goals. The four
    basic goals of the United Nations are: keeping world peace and
    preventing new wars; improving the standard of living for all nations;
    encouraging cooperation among nations; and defending human rights
    and helping to promote equality. Canada has played an important role
    in the General Assembly, as well as the Security Council ever since
    gaining its own seat in 1948. Canada also played a crucial role in the
    drafting of the UN Charter. A Canadian man named John Humphrey is
    often given credit for drafting the Charter of the UN and Canadian
    Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson played a key role in solving many of
    the problems the UN faced. Lester Pearson even received the Nobel
    Peace Price for his efforts to resolve a major problem the UN faced—
    the Suez Crisis. Canada has been a strong supporter of the UN since its
    creation. Canada has aided refugees from war or natural disasters and
    worked on development projects in various underdeveloped
    communities. Canada has been, and will indefinitely continue to be,
    very involved and notably active as part of UN peacekeeping efforts.

    While celebrating with Allied countries over the end of World War
    II, Canadians soon realized that they were about to become involved in
    another type of war—a war that was not fought on the battlefield.
    Almost immediately after WWII had ended, a Cold War broke out
    between the two superpowers of the world, the United States and the
    Soviet Union. It was a war fought over political differences, seeing as
    the Soviet Union was communist and the United States and most
    Western countries were capitalists. When the Soviets took over Eastern
    European countries and established communist governments there,
    many people began to fear the spread of communism in what became
    to be known as the Red Scare. In response to this Red Scare, Canada
    joined the US, Britain and many other Western European countries in a
    military alliance known as NATO. The NATO members agreed that, if
    conventional weapons were not sufficient enough, they would use
    nuclear weapons in order to protect the Western countries from the
    threat of invasion by the Soviets. Canada made a serious commitment
    by joining NATO because it agreed to keep a full army brigade and air
    squadrons in Europe, as well as building and supplying military bases
    overseas. Canada also played a serious role in NORAD by having three
    radar lines set up in order to detect Soviet planes and missiles and
    give early warnings of a Soviet attack. It also contributed $300 million
    dollars to help develop Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

    Canada has also become involved in many international conflicts


    since 1945. The fear of communism was not only a powerful force in
    the West, it began dividing nations globally. Korea was divided in 1945
    with the North being communist and the South being democratic. With
    support of the Soviet Union, the North Koreans invaded South Korea in
    1950. The North Korean troops refused to withdraw and the US
    demanded the UN come to the defence of South Korea. A UN force,
    including over 26 500 Canadians, was sent to fight in Korea. This
    decision signified Canada’s support towards the UN and that they were
    willing to support the UN’s goals.

    Nevertheless, Canada has not always become involved in


    international conflicts. The Vietnam War, much like the Korean War,
    was fought between the communist-controlled north and the
    democratic south. The United States supported South Vietnam and
    Communist countries, such as the Soviet Union, supported the North.
    The US was determined to stop the Communists by sending in
    American troops and fighting a Client War. Canada on the other hand,
    did not want to get involved in this battle. Most Canadians still saw
    communism as a threat but they felt that being under a communist
    government was better than being dead. They did not send in
    Canadian troops to fight along side their American neighbors; instead
    they chose to not participate. Canada was its own country and was
    able to make its own decisions, without the influence of other nations,
    and this crisis showed just that.

    The Suez Crisis in 1956 was also a significant event that gave
    Canada a chance to take a leading role at the United Nations, which is
    exactly what Canada did. When Egypt’s president, Gamal Abdel
    Nasser took over the Suez Canal; Britain and France joined Israel to
    attack the Egyptians. This resulted in the Soviet Union joining sides
    with Egypt and offering it financial aid and missiles. Many people felt
    that it was Canada’s duty to support Britain and help attack Egypt, yet
    Canadian Prime Minister, Louis St. Laurent, refused to support them.
    Lester Pearson, acting as Canada’s minister of External Affairs, went to
    the United Nations to try and work out a solution. He suggested
    creating a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) which would keep
    combatants apart until a settlement was workout. The UN agreed and
    battle forces were withdrawn and replaced with UN peacekeeping
    forces. Canada was able to find a more peaceful approach to solving
    this crisis and Lester Pearson eventually received the Nobel Peace
    Prize for his contribution.

    Canadian foreign policy has also changed considerably since


    1945. During the First World War, Canada’s foreign policy was
    completely controlled by Britain. This meant that when Britain went to
    war, Canada was automatically at war. When the Second World War
    came, Canada was independent from Britain and therefore had a
    separate foreign policy. Canada could make the decision as to whether
    or not they would go to war. In 1968, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre
    Elliott Trudeau planned to change the Canadian foreign policy in order
    to make it less dependant on US approval. He also called for more aid
    for the poor countries of the world and tried to establish trade and
    sporting links with communist states. Canada is known as a ‘middle
    power’ and is notorious for being a peacekeeping nation.

    The end of communism and the new world order has also
    affected Canada and its foreign policy in many ways. When
    communism ended, Canada was no longer filled with a society terrified
    of the Red Scare. Canada was able to open its doors to nationalities
    and races all over the world and its citizens not longer felt threatened
    by communism. Canada’s immigration policy became very open and
    Canada accepted people from all over the world, regardless of where
    they came from. The New World Order allowed Canada to have more of
    a peacekeeping role in the world and permitted Canada to contribute
    more to the United Nations.

    Canada has gone through many significant and notable changes


    since 1945. Canada has become a very multicultural by using its ‘open
    door policy’ towards immigration and treats everybody as they
    deserve. By being an active member in the UN, NORAD and NATO,
    Canada has earned the title of being a peacekeeping and peacemaking
    nation: a title that is well deserved and recognized all over the globe.

    You might also like