This dissertation examines the development of the North American air defence system from the beginning of the Cold War until 1956. It focuses on the political and diplomatic dynamics behind the emergence of these defences, which included several radar lines such as the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line as well as a number of initiatives to enhance co-operation between the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). This thesis argues that these measures were shaped by two historical factors. The first was several different conceptions of what policy on air defence best served the Canadian national interest held by the Cabinet, the Department of External Affairs, the RCAF and the Other Government Departments (OGDs), namely Transport, Defence Production and Northern Affairs. For the Cabinet and External Affairs, their approach to air defence was motivated by the need to balance working with the Americans to defend the continent with the avoidance of any political fallout that would endanger the government‘s chance of reelection. Nationalist sentiments and the desire to ensure that Canada both benefited from these projects and that its sovereignty in the Arctic was protected further influenced these two groups. On the other hand, the RCAF was driven by a more functional approach to this issue, as they sought to work with the USAF to develop the best air defence system possible. Finally, the positions of the OGDs were shaped by more narrow priorities. For example, C.D. Howe and the Department of Defence Production sought to use these joint radar projects to build up the Canadian electronics industry. Canada‘s air defence policy in the 1950s, therefore, was a compromise between these various conceptions of the national interest. The other major influence on this process was the attitude of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations towards continental air defence. This dissertation will argue that most of the measures to improve the security of the continent emerged because of the efforts of the United States, but at the same time, the Americans‘ level of interest in these defences varied greatly over this period and ultimately were not sustained. Moreover, both these administrations had to overcome opposition from the USAF‘s senior leadership, which preferred an emphasis on the offensive nuclear forces of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) over improved air defences. This dissertation thus makes an important and original argument that contributes to the scholarly literature on the Canada-U.S. defence relationship during the early Cold War. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-14 14:08:14.101

This dissertation examines the evolution of the bilateral Canadian-American continental air defence operational-level command and control relationship from the 1940 Ogdensburg Agreement to the establishment of the North American Air Defence Command (NORAD) in 1957. It takes a functional approach, focusing on the efforts of Canadian air force officers in conjunction with their American counterparts to develop efficient command and control arrangements to ensure effective air defence of North America while at the same time safeguarding Canadian sovereignty. It explores the evolution of certain command and control principles such as cooperation, unity of command, operational command, and operational control, and argues that because Canada was able to avoid having its air defence forces come under American command, Canadian sovereignty was assured. It also demonstrates that the Canada-U.S. bilateral continental air defence command and control relationship had its origins in Canadian, American, and British joint command and control culture and practice. Canadian steadfastness, along with compromise and accommodation between the two North American nations, operational and doctrinal factors, and also cordial professional working relationships and personalities, all played important roles in the evolution of this command and control relationship from the “cooperation-unity of command” paradigm of the Second World War towards “operational control” in an air defence context throughout the early Cold War. This paradigm shift culminated in 1957 with the integration and centralization of combined air defences under an overall NORAD commander exercising operational control. The thesis also demonstrates that by taking an active role in Canada-U.S. command and control arrangements, Canada was able to avoid a negative “defence against help” situation with the United States and ensure that it secured a proverbial “piece of the action” in the bilateral North American continental air defence mission. Moreover, through this active functional approach, Canadian officers were able to safeguard Canadian sovereignty and at the same time perform an effective and important operational role in the combined efforts with the United States to defend the continent from aerial attack. This dissertation therefore makes an important contribution to the study of command and control and the history of North American continental defence. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-12 17:33:33.335

This thesis named "Anti-Americanism and Canadian Cultural Policy (1928-1957)" examines how Canadian federal government cultural policies were influenced by a specific form of anti-Americanism, which reflected concerns over Americanization and cultural absorption by the United States, in this formative period for the development of a distinct national identity during the time of Canada's colony-to-nation transition. The chosen research design is interpretative content analysis of the reports of two Canadian royal commissions commonly known as the Aird Commission (1928-1929) and the Massey Commission (1949-1951). The aim of this thesis is to identify the main factors and incentives for a policy of government intervention in the field of culture and to assess the role of anti-Americanism as a response to what was perceived as American cultural invasion that threatened the development of a distinct Canadian culture. The theoretical framework contains a discussion about different forms of anti-Americanism, with emphasis on its unique nature in Canada, and introduces the concept of cultural imperialism which helps us to better understand Canadian opposition to American cultural influences in the examined period.