An Upcoming Escalation of the Arms Race? Canada Investigates American ABM Policy (1965-67)

The following documents demonstrate that from late 1965 to early 1967, Canadian officials attempted to gain information regarding the potential American deployment of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. While President Johnson claimed awareness of Canada’s “special interest” in the ABM issue, the Canadians frequently found themselves out of the loop, having to glean what information they could from public statements, press conferences, and rare briefings from U.S. officials. Information was so sparse that at one point in late 1966, there was concern in Ottawa that the Canadian government was being kept in the dark on a potential early ABM deployment by the Americans.

These documents also reveal the reasons for Canada’s immense interest in the ABM issue. First, there were concerns regarding the implications of potential ABM use over Canadian territory (fall-out, blast, heat) as well as implications for Canadian sovereignty. Additionally, the Canadian government had to weigh potential cooperation with the Americans on the ABM issue against Canadian public opinion on ABMs and nuclear weapons. But the most important issue for Ottawa appears to have been the potential impact of American ABM deployment on broader arms control concerns and negotiations. In these documents, Canadian officials frequently cite the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTB) as an example of an arms control agreement that could be jeopardized by ABM deployment. It was in this context that Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was advised to emphasize the Canadian interest in the implications of ABM deployment at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

By April of 1967, there was still no deployment decision from Washington, and the future of Soviet-U.S. arms control talks remained uncertain. While the Canadians were in a more informed position than they had been in 1965, they continued to put questions to their American counterparts, analyze American media for insights into the Johnson administration’s intentions, and to assess the implications of ABM deployment in North America.