CIA Activities in Canada - Possible Manipulation of Political Affairs

Possible Manipulation of Political Affairs

When the Avro Arrow aerospace program was cancelled in 1959, many believed that the CIA was partly responsible, fearing Canadian intrustion into aerospace dominance.

In 1961, the CIA wrote an intelligence estimate titled "Trends in Canadian Foreign Policy" which suggested that the Conservative government of John Diefenbaker "might take Canada in a divergent direction" and seek "a more independent foreign policy" and suggested that a return of the Liberal Party might "soften the Canadian resistance to the storage of nuclear weapons on Canadian soil". In 1967, Prime Minister Lester Pearson announced he would investigate the allegations of the CIA helping him oust Diefenbaker.

In 1982, Canadian Member of Parliament Svend Robinson accused the CIA of infiltrating the RCMP and funnelling political contributions to favoured politicians in provincial elections from 1970-76. The information seemed to arise from John H. Meier, an aide to Howard Hughes, but a secret investigation turned up no evidence of such a conspiracy. The RCMP allegations dated back to 1977, when it was shown that they were "linked" closely to the CIA.

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