Canada and the 1960 United States presidential election
Encyclopedia
As in the United States
, Canadians
were divided over the presidential election in their largest ally, the United States of America
. While official Ottawa leaned towards supporting Richard Nixon
, the Canadian public was much more favourable to John F. Kennedy
.
took no official view, as is standard practice, they were considered to be hoping for a Republican victory. On the day before the election The Globe and Mail ran the headline, "Official Ottawa Likes Nixon." Cross border relations had been very good with the Dwight Eisenhower administration, under both the Liberal
and Progressive Conservative
parties. Important agreements had been signed, such as that over the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Most important to Ottawa was the close relationship on continental security: agreements on the formation of North American Aerospace Defense Command
(NORAD), the purchase of the BOMARC missile defence system, and a trade of Canadian-built transport planes for fighter aircraft had been recently concluded. The Government of Canada
would have preferred to continue to the successful working relationship with the members of the Eisenhower administration than risk a possible new approach by the Kennedy team. In policy, however, Kennedy and Nixon differed little on continental defence.
Personally, many Canadians like others in the democratic world were attracted to the youth and charisma and John F. Kennedy
. On Kennedy's first official trip to Canada in May 1961, an unprecedented crowd of 50,000 turned out to see him. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-676-3868/politics_economy/presidents/clip4 http://archives.cbc.ca/500f.asp?id=1-73-676-3875 However, the issue of Kennedy's Catholicism
, was an important one to a significant number of Canadians. English Canada
in 1960 was still dominated by a staunchly Protestant elite, most obvious in the power the Orange Orders
held in society. A considerable number of English-Canadians who shared the views of the Orange Order thus had a hatred of anything Roman Catholic, even foreign leaders like Kennedy himself. This had also manifested itself against Roman Catholic Prime Ministers of Canada as well, such as John Thompson, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier
. French Canadians, in opposition to English Protestants, viewed Kennedy's candidacy with hope because of his shared religion and civil rights ideals.
Nonetheless, many Canadians looked at the religious division taking place among American voters as foreign to Canadian politics. Having first elected a Catholic to the office of Prime Minister in 1896, many outside Quebec were proud to claim a relative lack of religious bigotry in Canadian politics. In the Province of Quebec, several newspapers followed every aspect of the Kennedy campaign, pointing to his leadership as a Catholic role model.
There were few issues directly relating to Canadian-American relations in the 1960 election. One of the proposals that most concerned Canadians was Kennedy's plan to greatly increase agricultural subsidies. Canada could not hope to match these subsidies and they would serve to put Canadian farmers at a competitive imbalance in world markets. Canadian farmers were thus worried about a Kennedy victory.
Canada was only mentioned once in passing during the presidential debates. Kennedy listed the country, along with Western Europe and Japan, as nations that needed to join the embargo against Cuba
in order for it to be effective.
. The Canadian military, fulfilling their role in national defense, largely moved to an alert footing on their own accord during the crisis however. Diefenbaker was equally infuriated by Kennedy's decision not to consult with him ahead of time during the crisis. Diefenbaker worried Kennedy was grandstanding and could involve the world in a nuclear war. He was the only major U.S. ally to express these views, however. Later that year, he refused to accept nuclear warheads for the missiles based in Canada, rendering them all but useless. The Kennedy administration could barely contain its delight in Diefenbaker's replacement by Lester B. Pearson
in 1963. Controversies also arose from Diefenbaker's decision not to join in the U.S. led embargo against Cuba after the expropriation of U.S. owned businesses making up over 70% of the Cuban economy.
Despite these problems, Canadians today widely venerate Kennedy as an American statesman. The anti-Catholic prejudices have largely disappeared, and in the years since 1960 Canada has also pursued a path more to the left of the United States, meaning the views of Canadian Prime Ministers
are more in line with the views of the Democrats than the Republicans. Later events, such as Kennedy's assassination in 1963, have enhanced his image, while Watergate contributed to Nixon's continued unpopularity. A street in Montreal is named Avenue-du-President-Kennedy, and a bust of Kennedy stands on a traffic island there.
In the Canadian federal elections of 1962
and 1963
, John Diefenbaker
charged the U.S. government with somehow subverting his election campaign and aiding liberal Lester B. Pearson
, who was later elected in 1963. Though this has never been proven, Pearson and the Liberal Party did hire American advisors who normally helped the Democratic Party in their country.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
were divided over the presidential election in their largest ally, the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. While official Ottawa leaned towards supporting Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, the Canadian public was much more favourable to John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
.
Kennedy vs. Nixon
While the government of John DiefenbakerJohn Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
took no official view, as is standard practice, they were considered to be hoping for a Republican victory. On the day before the election The Globe and Mail ran the headline, "Official Ottawa Likes Nixon." Cross border relations had been very good with the Dwight Eisenhower administration, under both the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
and Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
parties. Important agreements had been signed, such as that over the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Most important to Ottawa was the close relationship on continental security: agreements on the formation of North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...
(NORAD), the purchase of the BOMARC missile defence system, and a trade of Canadian-built transport planes for fighter aircraft had been recently concluded. The Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
would have preferred to continue to the successful working relationship with the members of the Eisenhower administration than risk a possible new approach by the Kennedy team. In policy, however, Kennedy and Nixon differed little on continental defence.
Personally, many Canadians like others in the democratic world were attracted to the youth and charisma and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. On Kennedy's first official trip to Canada in May 1961, an unprecedented crowd of 50,000 turned out to see him. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-676-3868/politics_economy/presidents/clip4 http://archives.cbc.ca/500f.asp?id=1-73-676-3875 However, the issue of Kennedy's Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, was an important one to a significant number of Canadians. English Canada
English Canada
English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...
in 1960 was still dominated by a staunchly Protestant elite, most obvious in the power the Orange Orders
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
held in society. A considerable number of English-Canadians who shared the views of the Orange Order thus had a hatred of anything Roman Catholic, even foreign leaders like Kennedy himself. This had also manifested itself against Roman Catholic Prime Ministers of Canada as well, such as John Thompson, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
. French Canadians, in opposition to English Protestants, viewed Kennedy's candidacy with hope because of his shared religion and civil rights ideals.
Nonetheless, many Canadians looked at the religious division taking place among American voters as foreign to Canadian politics. Having first elected a Catholic to the office of Prime Minister in 1896, many outside Quebec were proud to claim a relative lack of religious bigotry in Canadian politics. In the Province of Quebec, several newspapers followed every aspect of the Kennedy campaign, pointing to his leadership as a Catholic role model.
There were few issues directly relating to Canadian-American relations in the 1960 election. One of the proposals that most concerned Canadians was Kennedy's plan to greatly increase agricultural subsidies. Canada could not hope to match these subsidies and they would serve to put Canadian farmers at a competitive imbalance in world markets. Canadian farmers were thus worried about a Kennedy victory.
Canada was only mentioned once in passing during the presidential debates. Kennedy listed the country, along with Western Europe and Japan, as nations that needed to join the embargo against Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in order for it to be effective.
Looking back
Some Canadian concerns about a Kennedy victory did come about. American agricultural subsidies, that have been increased even further since then, are a continued irritant. The Diefenbaker government's concerns did come to pass and relations between them and the Kennedy’s administration were abysmal. U.S. historians tend to blame this on Diefenbaker, however. In 1962 he infuriated Kennedy when he refused to put Canadian forces on alert during the Cuban Missile CrisisCuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. The Canadian military, fulfilling their role in national defense, largely moved to an alert footing on their own accord during the crisis however. Diefenbaker was equally infuriated by Kennedy's decision not to consult with him ahead of time during the crisis. Diefenbaker worried Kennedy was grandstanding and could involve the world in a nuclear war. He was the only major U.S. ally to express these views, however. Later that year, he refused to accept nuclear warheads for the missiles based in Canada, rendering them all but useless. The Kennedy administration could barely contain its delight in Diefenbaker's replacement by Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
in 1963. Controversies also arose from Diefenbaker's decision not to join in the U.S. led embargo against Cuba after the expropriation of U.S. owned businesses making up over 70% of the Cuban economy.
Despite these problems, Canadians today widely venerate Kennedy as an American statesman. The anti-Catholic prejudices have largely disappeared, and in the years since 1960 Canada has also pursued a path more to the left of the United States, meaning the views of Canadian Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
are more in line with the views of the Democrats than the Republicans. Later events, such as Kennedy's assassination in 1963, have enhanced his image, while Watergate contributed to Nixon's continued unpopularity. A street in Montreal is named Avenue-du-President-Kennedy, and a bust of Kennedy stands on a traffic island there.
In the Canadian federal elections of 1962
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
and 1963
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
, John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
charged the U.S. government with somehow subverting his election campaign and aiding liberal Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
, who was later elected in 1963. Though this has never been proven, Pearson and the Liberal Party did hire American advisors who normally helped the Democratic Party in their country.