Canada as a middle power

1. Lester B. Pearson

1.1. In 1963 Lester B. Pearson was elected as a prime minister. while he was a prime minister he helped develop Canada's role in peacekeeping

1.2. In 1956 Lester B. Pearson helped bring the Suez Canal Crisis to an end

1.3. Lester B. Pearson was a respected diplomat who was dedicated to the UN and greatly supported the creation of NATO

2. Suez crisis

2.1. The Suez Canal shortened the voyage time between Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

2.2. In 1956 the Egyptian government seized the Suez Canal. Britain and France had built the canal and therefore felt robbed

2.3. In response to the seizure, Israeli, British and French troops took over the canal zone; however, the Soviet Union supported Egypt and threatened to attack Britain and France

2.4. United Nations sent an emergency force to keep peace in Egypt while a political settlement was worked out, the force was made up of various countries including Canada. Within days the matter was peacefully resolved. This marked the start of international peacekeeping.

3. NATO

3.1. NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization

3.2. When the NATO agreement was negotiated, Canada insisted that it include a clause calling for political, economic, social, and cultural co-operation among NATO members

3.3. NATO is an organization which was originally formed in 1949 to protect the countries of Western Europe and North America from the Soviet military

3.4. NATO was formed by the countries of Western Europe and North America

4. The Cuban missile crisis

4.1. In 1959 Fidel Castro set up a communist government in Cuba When the Soviet Union found out that Cuba became a communist country they wanted to start a war with the United States, hence why in 1962 they started transporting nuclear missiles into Cuba

4.2. The Cuban missile crisis was the closest event in history to a global nuclear war