The Second World War brought Canada and the United States together to defend something that mattered. That started with divisive decisions not unlike those that the West faces today
“Good neighbour on one side; partners within the Empire on the other,” declared Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in July, 1938, positioning Canada between the United States and Britain. “Obligations to both in return for their assistance. Readiness to meet all joint emergencies.”
King’s desire to insert Canada between Britain and the U.S. was during a fraught period of global crisis, with militaristic Japan at war with China, with fascist Italy having crushed Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and, worst of all, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler aggressively building up his military, threatening neighbours and brazenly seeking war. What would Canada do in the coming months, as war loomed on the horizon? The awful decisions facing Canada more than 85 years ago are not dissimilar to those facing the Western democracies today.
