Cold War Canada: The Making of a National Insecurity State, 1945-1957

by Gary Marcuse, Reginald Whitaker

Canadians might expect that a history of Canada's participation in the Cold War would be a self-congratulatory exercise in documenting the liberality and moderation of Canada set against the rapacious purges of the McCarthy era in the United States. Though Reg Whitaker and Gary Marcuse agree that there is some evidence for Canadian moderation, they argue that the smug Canadian self-image is exaggerated. Cold War Canada digs past the official moderation and uncovers a systematic state-sponsored repression of communists and the Left directed at civil servants, scientists, trade unionists, and political activists. Unlike the United States, Canada's purges were shrouded in secrecy imposed by the government and avidly supported by the RCMP security service. Whitaker and Marcuse manage to reconstruct several of the significant anti-communist campaigns. Using declassified documents, interviews, and extensive archival sources, the authors reconstruct the Gouzenko spy scandal, trace the growth of security screening of civil servants, and re-examine purges in the National Film Board and the trade unions, attacks on peace activist James G. Endicott, and the trials of Canadian diplomat Herbert Norman. Based on these examples Whitaker and Marcuse outline the creation of Canada's Cold War policy, the emergence of the new security state, and the alignment of Canada with the United States in the global Cold War. They demonstrate that Canada did take a different approach toward the threat of communism, but argue that the secret repression and silent purges used to stifle dissent and debate about Canada's own role in the Cold War had a chilling effect on the practice of liberal democracy and undermined Canadian political and economic sovereignty.

Genres: Canada, History

512 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1995

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the Gouzenko affair usually receives the most attention from scholars, this work moves towards the mistreatment and state-sponsored spying and violence aimed at individuals like James Endicott and Herbert Norman (the former of the two was a returning missionary from China and member of several peace movements but remained a highly vilified public figure for his communist sympathies and the latter was a child of missionaries in Japan). In exposing the violence, physical and otherwise, towards non-conservative Canadians, the authors demonstrate how liberalism and democracy in Canada was far from a guarantee.

[Michael Primiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome account of the origins and Canadian prevalence of the Cold War. I only wish it paid more attention to the popular culture of the time

[Brent L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the best history book on Canada during the origins and early Cold War period when Canada was trading its sovereignty to the US in return for security.
A particularly good discussion of how the politics of fear and the goal of US hegemony in the postwar era trumped Canadian democracy and self-determination.