CANADA AND THE COLD WAR
By J.L. Granatstein
Buying the CF-18
It would be long, hard slog to find a multi-role fighter to meet commitments from both Norad and NATO
I
n the early 1970s, the Canadian Air Force needed a new fighter jet. The CF-104s flying in Europe for NATO were becoming obsolete, and the CF-101s in Norad, despite their nuclear-tipped air-to-air missiles, definitely were outdated. But the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau had many priorities more important than defence, and it would prove a long, hard slog to get new aircraft into service. Trudeau’s government had undertaken a major defence review when it took over in 1968, and the review froze the defence budget, cut Canada’s NATO commitments by 50 per cent, and the CF-104’s nuclear role came to an end. The CF-101’s nuclear role, however, did not. The reasons seem clear—the United States government, the
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USAF which was partnered with Canada in Norad, and the Canadian Air Force strongly objected to anything that would reduce the chances of destroying attacking Soviet bombers in the event of war. Defence minister Donald Macdonald produced a White Paper on Defence in 1971 that did nothing to improve funding for the Canadian Forces, and it was not until 1975 that the situation began to change. The government by then was interested in strengthening trade ties with Europe, and the prime minister, after talks with friendly European leaders, realized that Canada was a laggard in NATO defence circles. As a result, major defence purchases began to move forward in the next few years. For the air force, reorganized as Air
Cpl. Marc-André Gaudreault, Canadian Forces Combat Camera
2017-01-27 9:11 AM
