1952-55 - Hot to Cold War in Korea

Since 1951, the front lines of the conflict on the Korean peninsula had remained largely static. However, even as diplomats and the United Nations worked to broker an armistice and set up eventual peace negotiations, the Korean War still presented numerous conflicts and contradictions for the Canadian government. The protracted nature of the conflict made it difficult for Ottawa to sustain the financial and military effort involved with participating in the Commonwealth Forces, and there were frequent debates about which contracts should be maintained or terminated. Furthermore, the Canadians wanted to participate as much as possible as the conflict drew to a close to have the best negotiating position possible at Geneva, but frequently felt as though their efforts and intentions were misrepresented by the US and UK governments. Once the armistice was declared in July 1953, the Canadians began to withdraw from Korea as quickly as they were able. However, Canada maintained a commitment to the UN security forces and still needed to repatriate their troops that had been captured as prisoners-of-war, and thus would not be able to fully withdraw until the first half of 1955.