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THE VIETNAM WAR

Between 1968 and 1973, Canada provided assistance to the US struggle in Vietnam. Canada's official position was as a non-participant, or an impartial peacekeeper, but many Canadians still became involved in the conflict. Canada had eagerly joined the United States in earlier conflicts such as the Korean War and was viewed as their closest ally. But while Canada was committed to the Western cause in the Cold War, the country was also committed to multilateralism and the United Nations and thus found itself in a difficult position. Canada never fully agreed that communism itself needed to be opposed. Rather, its policy was that illegal acts of international aggression must be stopped.

Canadian negotiators were strongly on the side of the Americans, however, and with the approval of the Canadian government, foreign aid was sent. On one hand, Canada supported the war by exporting material and trying to act as a mediator. On the other hand, there was governmental criticism of the United States’ war methods. As the war escalated, relations between the two nations deteriorated. This opened the door to a large number of draft dodgers – primarily young US men disillusioned with the conflict who decided to relocate to Canada rather than serve in their armed forces. In that sense, the Vietnam War was an important cultural turning point for Canadians as it allowed Canada to become far more independent and nationalistic. The public, if not their representatives in Parliament, became more willing to oppose the US and move in a different direction socially and politically.

Alternately though, a large number of Canadian soldiers at that time had enlisted in the American armed forces. After their service, Canadian Vietnam Veterans returned to a society that was strongly anti-war. Many of the soldiers felt alienated by both their homeland and their government and some eventually moved to the US permanently. Others to this day, have lobbied the Federal government to officially recognize the efforts of these soldiers. There has been an ongoing controversy among Vietnam Veterans, American and Canadian, who want their comrades' deaths to be formally acknowledged by the Canadian government.

The North Wall memorial, situated on Windsor’s waterfront, commemorates the men who died assisting the US cause.