On This Day in Canada's Political History: Lester Pearson Delivers Speech on Nuclear Policy

  • National Newswatch

A great anniversary today to mark, particularly for myself and all those Canadians who hail from Homeland of Scarborough, Ontario. It was, of course, on this date in 1963 that then Leader of the Opposition Lester B. Pearson traveled to Canada's greatest community to unveil his party's policy on nuclear weapons.In a reversal, Mr. Pearson pledged that Canadian policy were he to be elected Prime Minister would be clear: Canada would accept nuclear weapons to live up to our obligations to our allies during those Cold War years.The Liberal Party Leader had been provoked into taking what was regarded as a clear policy reversal by comments made by U.S. General Lauris Norstad, then serving as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, who stated that his government was becoming increasingly impatient with the Diefenbaker government's waffling. General Norstad urged the opposition Liberals to develop a clear policy. The global context, of course, was the tensions of the Cold War, the ongoing threat posed by communist Cuba, and the Cuban missile crisis, which occurred mere months before Pearson's speech and thus undoubtedly factored into his thinking.