The historic weakness of the Canadian Liberal and NDP foreign policy

In the 1968 Canadian leaders debate, there was a single question on Canadas role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The LIberal and NDP leaders, Tommy Douglas and Pierre Trudeau gave a simillar answer: since Soviet Russia is not as wealthy as it was in the 1950's, since there needs to be some sort of peace deal with Soviet Russia, the threat of Russian tanks rolling against European states is low. Thus, Canada can end and/or reduce its millitary partnership with NATO.

Both leaders took this view even though Russian forces crushed Hungary in 1956 with an invasion.

Three months after making these policy statements, Soviet Russia invaded Czechkoslovakia and installed a puppet government.