Canada Declassified

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966”at Canada Declassified:
declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

Military Component of the Canadian delegation to the International Control Commission move along in a small boat in an unknown river South Vietnam.

October 1965, Operation Bacon was concluded. During Seaborn’s final visit to Hanoi his North Vietnamese counterpart “gave nothing away, apart from the usual diatribe.” Ottawa’s verdict? The “charcuterie exercise” was done, yet Canada’s role as an ICC member remained significant.

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966”at Canada Declassified: declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

President Lyndon B. Johnson in Vietnam with General William Westmoreland

June 1965, a newspaper headline read "LBJ's man in Vietnam Really a Top Canadian", Op. Bacon may have been burned. Beyond the operation’s confidentiality breach, there was considerable concern that Bacon was “exacerbating DRVN antagonism to the USA and annoyance with Canada”.

MI6's Man in Japan? Herbert Norman's Counterintelligence Assignment, 1945

Read the full story on Substack: timsayle.substack.com/p/mi6s-man-i...

A Canadian intelligence officer, diplomat, and historian of Japan, Herbert Norman was posted to US counterintelligence in postwar Tokyo. Norman was tasked with monitoring Japanese patriotic societies and their members to identify possible future confidential informants or inside assets.

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966”at Canada Declassified: declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

2nd Image Citation: Cameron, Duncan / Library and Archives Canada / PA-110784

[Canal crossing] Military Component Canadian Delegation to the International Control Commission in South Viet Nam

Jan. 1964. Lester B. Pearson's visit to France.

In early 1965, Seaborn’s fourth mission to Hanoi during Operation Bacon faced serious challenges. Washington’s “non substantive” message to Hanoi coupled with ongoing airstrike Operations Flaming Dart and Rolling Thunder threatened the viability of Bacon.

The OVATION File What Canada learned from Oleg Gordievsky

Substack: timsayle.substack.com/p/the-ovatio...
Image Citation: Lubyanka 1961, FOTO:FORTEPAN / Dobóczi Zsolt

Oleg Gordievsky’s exfiltration from the USSR was a daring and dangerous endeavor. Codenamed OVATION during his debriefing in England, the former KGB officer provided incredibly detailed and top-secret information. What did Canada learn in the OVATION files, and what can we learn from them now?

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966” at Canada Declassified: declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

Political posturing decisions delayed Seaborn’s third visit to Hanoi. American intervention was increasing, and Canadian officials were facing issues of opinion within the ICC. The balancing act was becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Image Citations:
Ransom, Jason/Library and Archives Canada [LAC]/Stephen J. Harper fonds [SJHf]/R16093-8303-X-E
Ransom, Jason/LAC/SJHf/R16093-8324-7-E
Ransom, Deborah/LAC/SJHf/R16093-21080-4-E
Ransom, Deborah/LAC/SJHf/R16093-21053-1-E

The [Redacted] on Terrorism Just don't call it a war!

Substack: timsayle.substack.com/p/the-redact...

The [Redacted] on Terrorism. What censors were deemed necessary when talking about Canada’s role in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001? How has that changed since 2011, and what does it mean for historians?

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966”at Canada Declassified: declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

August 10, 1964 – East Room of the White House in Washington DC. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Seaborn’s second mission of Operation Bacon occurred as the Gulf of Tonkin incident was playing out. US and N. Vietnamese officials expressed their support for continued communication through “Bacon” however the operation increasingly placed Canada in a delicate situation.

Image Citations:
Nazi POWs: Bundesarchiv, MSg 2 Bild-14835-09/Unknown author/CC-BY-SA 3.0
Secret Listener: Credit: Trent Park Trust/WWII Secret Listening Operations, UK
Maj. Eisenhardt: Duggan, Frank. Major Ian Eisenhardt. 1944, McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal, CA

Ping-Pong Intelligence A most peculiar contribution to the allied cause.

Full story on Substack: timsayle.substack.com/p/ping-pong-...

In World War II high-ranking Nazi POWs were held at Trent Park near London. Unbeknownst to them a psychological warfare operation was in effect. Recently released documents indicate that Canada supplied recreational materials, such as ping-pong balls to be used in these types of operations.

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966” at Canada Declassified: declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

Military Component of the Canadian delegation to the International Control Commission in South Vietnam

Military Component of the Canadian delegation to the International Control Commission in South Vietnam

The Canadian government took a calculated risk by engaging in the operation codenamed “Bacon”. Canadian representative J.B. Seaborn successfully made contact with the North Vietnamese Prime Minister on his first mission and established a channel for communications to flow.

Intrepid's Man in Canada A newly declassified oral history of Canada's role in the secret war.

Check out the Substack for highlights and full access to the declassified documents: timsayle.substack.com/p/intrepids-...

Intrepid’s man in Canada, Thomas Geoffrey Drew-Brook. More than 75 years after the events of the Second World War we now have access to an oral interview describing Canada’s role in the secret war. Find out why Drew-Brook said, “it had to be Canada.”

Check out the details of this chapter of the Briefing Book “Canadian Policy and ‘The Vietnam Problem.’ 1962 – 1966” at Canada Declassified: declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

Member of the Canadian delegation to the International control commission in South Vietnam on a balcony overlooking a street in Saigon. Image citation: Credit: Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / ecopy

Woman walking past Canadian delegation headquarters at Saigon, South Vietnam. May 1955.

Vietnam, 1962-1964: While Ottawa expressed reluctance to engage with the North Vietnamese due to “the dangers of excessive involvement,” U.S. officials pressed Canada to make contact with Hanoi.

"Oh, my God!" Fending off an American plan for radioactive detection devices on Canadian trains

Read the full story on Substack: timsayle.substack.com/p/oh-my-god

In 1957, the US government requested baggage investigatory powers at Canadian rail stations, but why? The plan was to utilize a “Mark II” radioactive detection device to identify attempts to smuggle radioactive materials into the US, however, Canadian officials were less than enthusiastic.

Follow along and get the full story at Canada Declassified. declassified.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/sho...

Military Component Canadian Delegation to the International Control Commission in South Viet Nam on the tarmac at an airport.

Geneva Conference, 21 July 1954. Last plenary session on Indochina in the Palais des Nations. Second left Vyacheslav Molotov, 2 unidentified Russians, Anthony Eden, Sir Harold Caccie and W.D. Allen. In the foreground North Vietnamese delegation.

How did Canadian officials balance the conflicting responsibilities of a neutral International Control Commission (ICC) representative, and a supportive ally as US intervention intensified in Viet Nam during the complicated years of 1962–1966? This Canadian policy series previews key moments.