Canada and weapons of mass destruction

Canada has not maintained and possessed weapons of mass destruction since 1984 and, as of 1998, has signed treaties repudiating possession of them. Canada ratified the in 1930 and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1970, but still sanctions contributions to American military programs.

With the French emphasis on nuclear deterrence following the Soviet Union's atom bomb test, Canadian cooperation with the US required the alignment of Canadian doctrine with defensive elements of American nuclear weapons doctrine.

The first US nuclear weapon came to Canada in 1950 when the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command stationed 11 model 1561 Fat Man atomic bombs at CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. Goose Bay was used as an aircraft staging location for both the RAF V-Force and SAC. The bombers were landed; crews relieved; aircraft refueled, or repaired; all without having to return to bases continental US, which were an additional 1,500 or more flying miles away from the bomber's potential targets. The few nuclear weapons designs of the time were delicate precision devices, which needed off-aircraft inspection (after landing), and environmental sheltering (at a secure warm/dry location) while their carrier aircraft was on the ground for routine maintenance or repair.

From 1963 to 1984, Canada fielded a total of four tactical nuclear weapons systems which deployed several hundred nuclear warheads.

Throughout the Cold War, Canada was closely aligned with defensive elements of United States programs in both NORAD and NATO. In 1964 Canada sent its White Paper on Defence to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to ensure he would not, “find anything in these references contrary to any views [he] may have expressed.”

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Wikipedia