In tears. Thanks Mike. I remember this, vaguely of course. I was 13, and my mind was not on global affairs. But my heart felt the tension. There might seem to be big differences between Carney and Pearson; but they share quick thinking, good sense and the capacity to see the big picture. Oh, and intelligence. Lots of intelligence.
Yes, arguably Canada’s best diplomat and a reasonable prime minister. Thank you for refreshing my memory of the blessings and curses of the middle powers.
It's worth noting Pearson was not PM at that time; he was Secretary of State for External Affairs under St Laurent, having previously bounced around various diplomatic postings, especially as Consul to the UK including the City of London which was/is dominated by Fabian socialists.
Although some people look back on this fondly mainly due to the empowerment of the UN, at the time Canadians were less enthused. In the next election, St Laurent's government was swept aside by a landslide win for John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives.
The more I read about Pearson, the more I believe he, like Mark Carney, was not working for the best interests of Canadians. Rather they're working for the globalists. Using diplomacy to bring about a world government as envisioned by the Fabians sounds romantic but I'd rather the sovereignty of Canada remain intact than the "post national" nightmare we're currently enduring.
Indeed, as Pearson never won a majority government but secured the cooperation of eugenics fan Tommy Douglas to put in place many of the sacred cow socialist programs like the Canada Pension Plan, Universal Healthcare, Old Age Security, as well as replacing our flag and starting Crown Inquiries into multiculturalism, official languages, status of women etc. later used by Pierre Trudeau to justify further expansion of government.
It's worth noting Trudeau the Elder started his political ambitions with Douglas but abandoned the CCF (became NDP) when the Elder realized they would never achieve national government.
I used to think Trudeau the Elder was Canada's worst PM but the more I read, I'm starting to think he has competition, not only from his son but also Pearson and now King Carney...
"President Nasser of Egypt objected to the Canadian infantry."
I guess I don't understand why this would be seen as petty. It is pretty obvious that Canada is a co-colonial creature of the British and French empires, and might as well have been infantry from Britain, France, or Israel.
Canada is currently one of 5 members of the UN's WEOG (Western Europe and Other Group) that shares no border with any Western European country. WEOG formed in 1961, and Canada was there right from the beginning (and not aligned with this hemisphere).
I don’t see this involvement as trying to “save the world”, but trying to preserve Western unity as a rift had formed between the United States (Geographic/economic ties) and Britain/France (parents).
If the conflict escalated, Canada would be forced to choose between Britain/France and the US, a scenario that would politically tear Canada apart. The crisis also threatened to split the British Commonwealth (as member states like India side with Egypt) and weaken NATO against the Soviet Union (NATO being created after WW2 in order to be a shield to enable the use of the sword in the Cold War the West launched against a WW1+WW2 ally).
I'm actually surprised Canada's involvement turned out to be helpful.
I'm aware that Canada wasn’t granted foreign policy until 1931 ( https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/22-23/4/contents ) so couldn’t declare war for WW1, only declared war during WW2, but has participated in wars since. A totally different interpretation of this is that Canada figured out a way to push its strategic interests -- including through warfare -- without having to officially declare war. The UN has been regularly abused by Western powers for their own strategic interests.
The Senate's own retrospective on the Suez crisis backs up the part of your read I'd push back on. Pearson didn't get assigned the UNEF concept by London or Paris, he proposed it himself on the floor of the General Assembly on November 2, with nothing yet built. Egypt's objection to Canadian uniforms came after that, not before it. The colonial alignment point stands for the wider Cold War calculus. The UNEF idea itself was Pearson's, not inherited.
In tears. Thanks Mike. I remember this, vaguely of course. I was 13, and my mind was not on global affairs. But my heart felt the tension. There might seem to be big differences between Carney and Pearson; but they share quick thinking, good sense and the capacity to see the big picture. Oh, and intelligence. Lots of intelligence.
Yes, arguably Canada’s best diplomat and a reasonable prime minister. Thank you for refreshing my memory of the blessings and curses of the middle powers.
One of our prouder moments. Thank you for this reminder.
I never knew
It's worth noting Pearson was not PM at that time; he was Secretary of State for External Affairs under St Laurent, having previously bounced around various diplomatic postings, especially as Consul to the UK including the City of London which was/is dominated by Fabian socialists.
Although some people look back on this fondly mainly due to the empowerment of the UN, at the time Canadians were less enthused. In the next election, St Laurent's government was swept aside by a landslide win for John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives.
The more I read about Pearson, the more I believe he, like Mark Carney, was not working for the best interests of Canadians. Rather they're working for the globalists. Using diplomacy to bring about a world government as envisioned by the Fabians sounds romantic but I'd rather the sovereignty of Canada remain intact than the "post national" nightmare we're currently enduring.
Indeed, as Pearson never won a majority government but secured the cooperation of eugenics fan Tommy Douglas to put in place many of the sacred cow socialist programs like the Canada Pension Plan, Universal Healthcare, Old Age Security, as well as replacing our flag and starting Crown Inquiries into multiculturalism, official languages, status of women etc. later used by Pierre Trudeau to justify further expansion of government.
It's worth noting Trudeau the Elder started his political ambitions with Douglas but abandoned the CCF (became NDP) when the Elder realized they would never achieve national government.
I used to think Trudeau the Elder was Canada's worst PM but the more I read, I'm starting to think he has competition, not only from his son but also Pearson and now King Carney...
"President Nasser of Egypt objected to the Canadian infantry."
I guess I don't understand why this would be seen as petty. It is pretty obvious that Canada is a co-colonial creature of the British and French empires, and might as well have been infantry from Britain, France, or Israel.
Canada is currently one of 5 members of the UN's WEOG (Western Europe and Other Group) that shares no border with any Western European country. WEOG formed in 1961, and Canada was there right from the beginning (and not aligned with this hemisphere).
I don’t see this involvement as trying to “save the world”, but trying to preserve Western unity as a rift had formed between the United States (Geographic/economic ties) and Britain/France (parents).
If the conflict escalated, Canada would be forced to choose between Britain/France and the US, a scenario that would politically tear Canada apart. The crisis also threatened to split the British Commonwealth (as member states like India side with Egypt) and weaken NATO against the Soviet Union (NATO being created after WW2 in order to be a shield to enable the use of the sword in the Cold War the West launched against a WW1+WW2 ally).
I'm actually surprised Canada's involvement turned out to be helpful.
I'm aware that Canada wasn’t granted foreign policy until 1931 ( https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/22-23/4/contents ) so couldn’t declare war for WW1, only declared war during WW2, but has participated in wars since. A totally different interpretation of this is that Canada figured out a way to push its strategic interests -- including through warfare -- without having to officially declare war. The UN has been regularly abused by Western powers for their own strategic interests.
The Senate's own retrospective on the Suez crisis backs up the part of your read I'd push back on. Pearson didn't get assigned the UNEF concept by London or Paris, he proposed it himself on the floor of the General Assembly on November 2, with nothing yet built. Egypt's objection to Canadian uniforms came after that, not before it. The colonial alignment point stands for the wider Cold War calculus. The UNEF idea itself was Pearson's, not inherited.