Conclusion

Although Canada was not a particularly strong or a critical player in the world during the Cold War, the decisions and actions of Canada were, for the most part, influential in many respects. As a middle power, Canada had the ability to maintain peace and prosperity for the East and the West. Canada did, in several cases, bridge the gap between the Capitalist West and the Communist East. These actions stopped the Cold War from escalating into all-out conflict between the major superpowers of the time, the Soviet Union and the United States. The ideas of peaceful coexistence, in some part, ended the costly and potentially apocalyptic situation between these two powers to some extent.

A major aspect of Canada's history during the Cold War were the actions that it took to give aid to the several new nations formed in Asia and Africa after the end of imperialism. Canada's acts that range from peacekeeping through the military in unstable regions, to the trade and aid policy that Canada put into effect, greatly improved the situation in many developing nations at the time. the generosity of the Canadian government provided food, medicine, and other important goods and infrastructures.

Canada was influential in numerous peacekeeping actions that took place during the Cold War. With great leaders such as Prime Ministers Pearson and Trudeau, the world avoided countless incidents that could have developed or escalated wars. As a middle power, Canadian diplomats could find solutions to issues as it would not have bias as a third party. There were many crises that Canada played a critical role in resolving such as the Suez Crisis and both major proxy wars during the 1950's and 1960's.

On the other hand, Canada was not remarkably useful as a military force during the Cold War. With Canada's airplane industry collapsing after the loss of the Avro Arrow and a small unready military force, the main superpowers of the time were the only nations that possessed real military might. Canada was influential and beneficial in several isolated and belittled situations such as the Battle of Kapyong, but in general, the Canadian military was not influential to the point that it could make any noticeable contributions on a global scale.