Essay On Spies In Canada

On Sept. 5, 1945, just three days after the official end of World War II, Igor Gouzenko, a cipher clerk who worked at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, put his life and his family’s lives at severe risk by revealing 109 documents proving a Soviet spy network functioning, throughout several government departments in Canada, Britain and the United States. His defection is known as the first publicly recognized evidence that the cold war is underway. Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King responded cautiously and limitedly to the incident. Moreover, several spies were discovered all over Canada, Britain and the United States. Lastly, the incident led to more revelations in Canadian society. Therefore, the incident displayed

However, the prime minister preferred the incident to not go public for the consequences the disclosure would have on the upcoming meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, that the Soviet Union was attending. It took King from September 1945 until February 1946 to inform his cabinet about the Gouzenko defection. Nonetheless, King was forced to take action after Drew Pearson, an American talk show host had announced he had news of a Soviet defector in Canada who had proof of an espionage operating in Canada and the United States. Pearson's revelations triggered an immediate Canadian and British reaction. The head of British Security Coordination, William Stephenson, disagreed with Prime minister King's view on ignoring Igor Gouzenko he stated, “The Russian, would certainly have information valuable not merely to Canada but also to Britain, the United States, and other Allies. Furthermore, Gouzenko's life was almost certainly in danger. They should act, and do so immediately, by taking Gouzenko in.” Furthermore, King questioned the motives of the potential defector as stated by author Amy W. Knight, “But his reaction was understandable. Apart from wishing to avoid a diplomatic debacle, King also questioned the motives of the potential defector. The man was quite possibly lying to save his own skin, or because he wanted to live in Canada and needed a means to gain

It placed Canada front and center into the cold war swiftly and abruptly. It was an uncomfortable position since Canada is inexperienced with dealing with defectors. Igor Gouzenko is a wake-up call for Canada that the USSR is planning to expand communism in democratic countries and is already working for the third world war. During Igor's testimony, he stated,

“To many Soviet people here abroad, it is clear the Communist Party in democratic countries have changed long ago from a political party into an agency net of the Soviet Government, into the fifth column in these countries to meet a war, into an instrument in the hands of the Soviet Government for creating artificial unrest, provocation, etc., etc. Through numerous party agitators, the Soviet Government stirs up the Russian people in every possible way against the peoples of the democratic countries, preparing the ground for the third world war.”

Soon after in 1949, Canada joined the NATO, an alliance against the Soviet bloc in defence against a possible invasion. Canada is known as a peacekeeping country especially with their efforts to help the Soviet people from the widespread communism by collecting money for the welfare of the Russian people, sacrificing their lives of their sons in the delivery of supplies across the ocean. Therefore, Canada was able to learn from that