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“A Challenge and a Danger” Canada and the Cuban Missile Crisis

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“A Challenge and a Danger” Canada and the Cuban Missile Crisis “A Challenge and A Danger” Canada and the Cuban Missile Crisis By Caralee Daigle Hau A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in History in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada December 2011 Copyright © Caralee Daigle Hau 2011 Abstract President John F. Kennedy’s announcement, on Monday 22 October 1962, that there were offensive missiles on the island of Cuba began the public phase of what would be remembered as the Cuban missile crisis. This Cold War crisis had ramifications in many other countries than just the Soviet Union and the United States. Due to the danger involved in this nuclear confrontation, the entire globe was threatened. If either side lost control of negotiations, an atomic war could have broken out which would have decimated the planet. As the direct northern neighbors of the United States and partners in continental defence, Canadians experienced and understood the Cuban missile crisis in the context of larger issues. In many ways, Canadian and American reactions to the crisis were similar. Many citizens stocked up their pantries, read the newspapers, protested, or worried that the politicians would make a mistake and set off a war. However, this dissertation argues that English Canadians experienced the crisis on another level as well. In public debate and print sources, many debated what the crisis meant for Canadian-Cuban relations, Canadian-American relations and Canada’s place in the world. Examining these print and archival sources, this dissertation analyzes the contour of public debate during the crisis, uniting that debate with the actions of politicians. Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker hesitated for two days before making a statement which fully committed Canada to a position which supported the American quarantine of Cuba, and shortly after the crisis, was defeated at the polls. This dissertation argues that understanding the Canadian reaction to and experience of the Cuban missile crisis necessitates an understanding of how different Canadians talked about and understood the actions of ii their leaders. The shifting terrain of memory also serves to demonstrate the manner in which this history is told and remembered in Canada. This dissertation, therefore, examines the intersections between this Cold War confrontation and Canadian identity in the postwar period. iii Acknowledgements At the end of a project such as this, one becomes very aware of the extent of assistance that was necessary to pull it off. In the process of writing this dissertation, I received support from a number of professionals, colleagues, friends and family. For this assistance and camaraderie, I am deeply grateful to them all. Various institutions and agencies provided financial assistance that made this project possible. This dissertation was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, and the Donald S. Rickerd Fellowship. In addition, Queen’s University provided a significant amount of support through a travel and research fellowship, teaching assistant and teaching fellowship positions, and other awards. None of this work would have been possible without this financial assistance. Various archivists across the country have helped me a great deal in finding information on my subject. To the excellent staff at Library and Archives Canada, Doug Beaton at the Diefenbunker (Canada’s Cold War Museum), Rob Paul at the Diefenbaker Centre of Canada, and Dr. Andrew Burtch at the Canadian War Museum, thank you for helping me find excellent material and sources and answering my many questions. To my interview subjects, your comments, insight and ability to provide me with a very real reminder of the human element of this story, you have my gratitude. I hope that in the following pages I have done your stories justice. Throughout my years of study, I have incurred a number of academic debts to a great many professors and colleagues. These individuals sparked my interest in the history of the Cold War and history in general, and maintained my interest in debate and iv contemplation of this profession. Many of my professors along the way have been instrumental in this process, in particular: Drs. Martha Smith-Norris, Larry Stewart, Valerie Korinek, and Clay Burlingham at the University of Saskatchewan; and Drs. Roseanne Currarino, Barrington Walker, and Allan English at Queen’s University have been excellent examples to which I aspire. To the members of my dissertation committee I also owe a debt of gratitude: Drs. Susan Lord, Jeff Brison, David Parker, Brian McKercher and Norman Hillmer provided me with extremely useful critical feedback and commentary which helped make this dissertation what it is and which will be with me as I move forward from here. My peers in the PhD program at Queen’s University have been excellent colleagues, providing friendship, a forum for debate, and the occasional critical commentary on my work. In particular, Claire Cookson-Hills, Rob Engen, Kyle Franz, Carolyn Harris, Stephanie Jowett, and Pamela Peacock were always there for words of encouragement. Laura Labonté and David O’Connor have also been there for support and solidarity as fellow grad students, and have proved that the grad student experience can transcend the divide between science and the humanities. Four individuals in the Department of History have provided essential assistance throughout the years. Debbie Stirton-Massey, Cindy Fehr, Cathy Dickison and Yvonne Place were kind enough to answer my many questions and emails throughout the duration of my time at Queen’s. My supervisor Karen Dubinksy also deserves special thanks. Her thorough read- throughs and lunch meetings at the grad club provided me with essential motivation. When I needed a critical eye for writing style or a motivating reason to finish on time, Karen was always there to provide it. Her many comments and insightful questions v pushed me to look at this project in new and exciting ways. For this and so much more, I am fortunate to have worked with her through both my Master’s and PhD. To my parents and my partner I owe the biggest debt of all. Even though my family never quite understood why I wanted to pursue history, nor why I rambled on somewhat incoherently about missiles in Cuba or duck-and-cover drills in the United States, I always knew that they had unshakable faith in me. It is to my mother, from whom I’ve learned passion for my profession, integrity, and the ever-lasting love of a good argument, and my father, who read every single word of this thesis (even the ones that eventually got cut), that this thesis is dedicated. This work is also dedicated to my partner Michel, whose love for history and a good debate equal mine. His uncanny ability to listen and belief in my ability was essential to my progress, and sanity, throughout the writing of this dissertation. vi Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………. iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………… vii Chapter One Introduction: Canada and the Missiles on “That Imprisoned Island” …… 1 Chapter Two The Cuban Missile Crisis in Canada……………………………………… 55 Chapter Three “Good Friends of Canada?” Canadian Understandings of Cuba………… 106 Chapter Four “The Tail of Every Kite?” Canada and the United States………………… 158 Chapter Five “Let Canada’s Be A Peaceful Contribution to World Affairs:” Canada as a Peaceable Middle Power and the Cuban Missile Crisis……………… 199 Chapter Six Do The Textbooks Need to Be Rewritten? Remembering the Cuban Missile Crisis in Canada…………………………………………………… 235 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… 287 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………… 294 Appendix………………………………………………………………………… 312 vii Chapter One – Canada and the Missiles on “That Imprisoned Island” At 7 p.m. on Monday, 22 October 1962, American President John F. Kennedy appeared on television. He announced that there were missiles in Cuba, and they were pointed at the United States. This speech began the public phase of the Cuban missile crisis, and was for many the most terrifying episode of the entire Cold War. The Cuban missile crisis was the most public moment during the Cold War in which the world came face to face with the immediate threat of nuclear war. The anxiety and tension of that week unites historical accounts. While not everyone rushed out to the grocery stores to stock up on canned goods and water for their home fallout shelter, many did pay attention to the news and worried over the possibility that something would go wrong, that the leaders would lose control of the situation, and that the so-called button would be pushed. Canadians, as the direct northern neighbors to the United States, were also threatened by the missiles in Cuba. Newspapers across the country declared that the missiles in Cuba had the capability to hit Canada as far north as Hudson’s Bay and as far west as Regina. There was also the ever-present fear of fallout drifting across the country, creating a nuclear winter. Simply because this was a political confrontation between John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Fidel Castro did not mean that Canadians living in Victoria or Halifax would not feel the effects if the situation spiraled out of control. Canadians across the country paid a great deal of attention to the actions of the politicians who had landed the world in this situation to begin with. Protesters in Toronto and Montreal marched in front of the American embassy. In Vancouver, students at the University of British Columbia gathered to hear their professors speak 1 about Kennedy’s action. Later in the week, engineering students from the same university marched to City Hall and shot “Fidel Castro” (actually a fellow student) in effigy with water pistols. Canadians in the navy and air force prepared themselves for the possibility of war.
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