In 1960 an optimist would have felt justified asserting that the world was entering a period of relative prosperity and stability. Joseph Stalin’s demise in the mid-1950s provided the opportunity for the ascendancy of Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev led a period of de-Stalinization which evoked hope in the West of a more lenient regime. McCarthyism was on the decline in the United State and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the stalwart cold war general determined to block communist expansion, was replaced in 1960 by the young John F. Kennedy. Kennedy had campaigned on a platform for the Rights of Man; he proposed widespread reforms to ensure equal access for all Americans to voting booths, jobs, homes and public facilities.

But the optimist would surely have been disappointed. Cold war tensions were heightened and solidified through the 1960s alongside the continued threat of all-out nuclear devastation. In the 1960s the US was spending more that $5 billion to create an anti-ballistic missile system while maintaining an armory of 1,710 intercontinental ballistic missiles. China joined the nuclear arms club in 1964 when it exploded its first atom bomb in direct violation of the 1963 Test Ban Treaty on nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, the 1968 United Nations (UN) Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was a landmark achievement. The treaty enjoyed the support of the US, Britain and Russia, but not France or China. It was an important symbolic moment and reflected worldwide fears of the potential for the complete destruction of the human race through nuclear weapons. And yet the treaty did little to deter nuclear weapons tests and rising defence budgets.

Tensions between the East and West continued to rise as the US and Russia confronted each other in everything from nuclear weapons proliferation to outer-space. The world was on the brink of nuclear war in 1963 when Khrushchev attempted to supply Cuba with nuclear weapons. Kennedy’s determined stance, enforced through a naval blockade of the island, had people building bomb shelters in their back yards and world leaders clamoring for a diplomatic solution. Khrushchev backed down and Kennedy came out the winner, but not without justifying the fears of anti-nuclear weapons activists. During the 1960s the Cold War also reached outer-space. Russia and the United States competed fiercely for access to space through the decade. Russia became the first country to send a man to orbit the earth in 1961, and the Americans placed the first man on the moon in 1969.

The real confrontation did take place in Cuba or outer space, however, but in Southeast Asia where the conflict in Vietnam came to a climax in the 1960s. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, his successor Lyndon Johnson stepped-up the war in Vietnam . Congress passed the Golf of Tonkin resolution in 1964 which authorized the President to retaliate against North Vietnam. For the next five years the American government supplied the South Vietnamese with more than half a million soldiers and millions in economic aide in a conflict which produced no discernible winner. The election of former Vice-President Richard Nixon in 1968 signaled the first real dedicated attempt by an American president to pull the country out of the war in Vietnam, and a slow withdrawal of American troops began in 1969. At no time did the U.S. officially declare war on the communist regime of North Vietnam, but at the close of the decade America had lost more than 40 000 soldiers to the conflict.

Outside the East-West stand-off, the 1960s was also characterized by the remaining de-colonization of former colonies of European powers. New governments emerged in former British colonies in Africa beginning with Kenya, Sierra Leon, Somalia, Nigeria and Madagascar, as well as French colonies of Dahomey, Niger, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central Africa and Congo Brazzaville and Mauritania By 1966 Europe’s presence as a colonial power had virtually vanished. The process of de-colonization was never easy. Algeria, for instance, was among the most prominent countries struggling to establish itself as a separate nation and fought a deadly war with France for many years. After years of violence between French troops and Algerian nationalists (which extended to bombings in France itself and assassination attempts on the president by French nationalists determined to keep Algeria in the French orbit) France's President Charles DeGaulle promised in 1960 that he would hold a referendum on Algerian independence. On 1 July 1962 more than five million Algerians voted for independence. Fewer than 17 000 were opposed.

Apartheid transformed another former colony, South Africa, into an international pariah in the 1960s. The 1959 Extension of University Education Act officially ousted blacks from white universities in Cape Town and Witwatersrand, and established separate institutions for blacks. An Immorality Act passed a decade earlier continued to be vigorously enforced during the 1960s, forbidding sexual intercourse between White and non-Whites. Fifty-six Africans were killed in 1960 (the same year South Africa became a Republic) when police opened fire into a crowd of people demonstrating against a pass law that required non-Whites to carry identity cards in certain designated areas. Despite condemnation from the U.N. and countries around the world, including Canada, the policy of apartheid remained firmly in place at the end of the decade.

In Asia, as was the case around the world, violent clashes within and between nation states was endemic in the sixties. China’s cultural revolution came into full-swing. Old customs, habits, culture and thinking were to be abandoned as thousand of Chinese joined gangs of Red Army soldiers and attacked ancient buildings, temples and museums as well as people associated with older cultural traditions. Border disputes over the territory of Kashmir on the Indian-Pakistani border exploded into armed conflict between the two nations. India penetrated deep into Pakistan before a truce was called between the two countries. As the Vietnam conflict spread to other countries in South East Asia such as Laos and Cambodia, Japan remained one of the few countries in Asia that enjoyed strong economic growth in the 1960s. Japan boasted one of the largest mercantile fleets in the world and by the close of the decade Japan's Gross National Product surpassed that of West Germany.

The American civil rights movement entered a new, powerful phase in the sixties. Advocating a form of protest modeled on Ghandi’s non-violent tactics, Martin Luther King and others led freedom rides and massive protests to call on the federal government to ensure equal access and desegregation. A Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was organized in 1960 and the Student League for Industrial Democracy became the Students for a Democratic Democracy, both of which helped direct much of the Left-wing civil rights activism of the 1960s. Eisenhower introduced the first Civil Rights Act near the end of his presidency. The law was designed to protect black voting rights and make it a federal offense for anyone interfering with black registration and voting. Although his assassination prevented him from seeing the legislation come into effect, a second Civil Rights Act was introduced by Kennedy in 1963 and more than 250 000 people marched on Washington to support the bill. The law provided aide to schools for desegregation, empowered the Attorney General to bring suits on behalf of victims of discrimination under federal jurisdiction, and allowed the executive to deny funds to any program promoting racial discrimination. Thanks to activists, both white and black, more black people were voting despite constant obstacles imposed by southern states. Discrimination in employment and services eroded as people marched, demonstrated and sat-in against those practicing discrimination. But these advances were marred by continuing violence. Activists were the target of constant attacks. Riots and looting across the country following the assassination of Martin Luther King’s in 1968.

The American civil rights movement was brought home to Canada through television, magazines, films, newspapers and a host of other sources. News of Martin Luther King and thousands of black demonstrators rallying in Selma, Alabama to gain blacks the right to vote led to a sit in at the American consulate in Toronto organized by the Student Union for Peace Action (SUPA). Thousand of students rallied in Montreal to support the cause of black rights in the U.S. These were not isolated incidents. Canadian activists were often active in engaging with international issues. SUPA had begun as a peace movement opposed to the spread of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, organized protest groups across the country, such as the Winnipeg Labour Committee for Human Rights, called for boycotts of South African goods; members of the FLQ claimed to take inspiration from various liberation movements from Cuba to Algeria; and, anti-Vietnam demonstrators marched in most cities across the country and several groups organized support services for American draft dodgers.

For Canadians, the 1960s was also a period of social unrest and significant social, economic and political developments. Lester B. Pearson and the Liberal Party defeated John Diefenbaker’s Progressive Conservatives in 1963. The defeat established a Liberal regime that would last for the next sixteen years. In the provinces, Progressive Conservatives continued to rule in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Manitoba throughout the 1960s, and in Prince Edward Island Walter Shaw’s Progressive Conservative government was not defeated until 1966. Liberal regimes continued in Newfoundland under the dominance of Joey Smallwood’s unstoppable electoral machine, with similar Liberal governments in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan (after defeating the New Democrats in 1964) and Quebec (1960-1964). The Quebec Liberal Party, headed by Jean Lesage, ushered in a new era in Quebec politics as well as social and economic development. These profound developments were labeled Quebec's "Quiet Revolution". It was a period of fundamental changes to education, state ownership of enterprise and asserting the place of francophones in the economy. Social Credit, a right-wing political movement with close ties to rural and business interests, ruled with large majorities in British Columbia and Alberta. But the most notable political development of the period was undoubtedly the formation of the NDP in 1961. At a conference in Ottawa attended by 2000 delegates from unions, the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation and various CCF clubs, the New Democratic Party was founded. The NDP began with a national membership of 209 034. Social democracy was revitalized with the creation of this new political party led by T.C. Douglas, former Premier and leader of the Saskatchewan CCF. In its first federal election in 1962, the new party claimed about the same proportion of the popular vote as its predecessor, hovering around 13.5%, while gaining an additional six seats for a total of 19.

Despite the excitement surrounding the creation of a new political party, the political Left continued to struggle throughout the 1960s. Right-wing forces defeated the NDP in its traditional strongholds including Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia. A federal minority government in 1966 brought the Liberals and NDP together, but it was a short-lived affair. The NDP's first significant victory would have to wait until 1969 when Ed Schreyer, the leader of the Manitoba NDP, defeated the provincial Conservatives. Party stalwarts such as David Lewis, who had been active in the CCF for decades, also found themselves under fire by a new movement within the party: Wafflers. A group of Ontario NDP members produced a manifesto urging the party to adopt a more nationalist and socialist agenda. The Waffle's nationalism was rooted in anti-americanism and concern over foreign ownership. The movement, based primarily within the Ontario CCF, ultimately failed to challenge David Lewis for the leadership of the NDP in the early 1970s.

The birth of the NDP in 1961 coincided with a period of intense economic growth in Canada. Since WWII the economy had grown steadily: the Gross Domestic Product rose annually by 5% on average until the end of the decade, and unemployment remained low, usually around 4.5% to 5%. Although inflation would reach 5% by the late 1960s, throughout most of the period inflation remained low, averaging 1%-2%. Canada’s strong economic performance was abetted by a similar trend on a global scale; world trade expanded six-fold between 1948 and 1973 at an annual rate of 7%, and the US economy grew at an average rate of 2.6%. The most successful economic achievement during this period was unquestionably the Auto Pact between Canada and the U.S. The AutoPact established a free trade zone in auto parts and instituted a minimum production level in Canada. Almost instantly the agreement changed the face of the Canadian economy. Auto sales surpassed pulp and paper as the country’s primary industry, and in 1968 imported vehicles to the U.S. accounted for 40% of the Canadian market compared to 3% in 1963.

During the sixties various governments experimented with innovations in social programs and expanded state funding for education, health and income security. By 1961 all the provinces had agreed to a federal cost-sharing program for hospital insurance, and universal medical insurance was instituted in 1966. Within five years universal health insurance was implemented in every province. It was a prosperous time for most Canadians. People were consuming more (retail sales rose more than 20 billion), buying more cars (registrations up 40%), purchasing more homes and going to school in record numbers (enrollment doubled during this period to 285 000, quadruple that of the 1950s). By the end of the sixties, central heating, electric appliances, and hot/cold running water were accessible in all but the poorest of regions. [In comparison, in the 1940s most basic conveniences were beyond many Canadians. The majority of people still used ice boxes, 9 out of 10 people required coal or wood to heat homes, six out of ten people had piped water and fewer than half had showers or baths. Even flush toilets were only available in approximately half the homes in the country and only one million cars, one for every eight, were registered.] Automobile registration soared to the point that most people had their own vehicle, some with two or three. Thanks to new medical technologies and the discovery of the polio vaccine, life expectancy rose 5.5% for men and 9.5% for women.

Economic prosperity translated into a new and dynamic life in the homes of most Canadians. New forms of leisure gripped Canadians. Mass-produced products catered to a baby boom generation anxious for new and exciting outlets for their new found wealth. It was the age of television, introduced in the 1950s, and tv soon become a mass entertainment. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and smaller, private television stations proliferated during this period. Davy Crockett (1955), hula hoops (1958), Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe (1965) became quick successes. More people were attending school than ever before, 1 200 000 more in 1960-1 than in 1950-1. The 1960s had ushered in a new and unique period in Canadian history, and it represented a sharp contrast to the modesty and conformity of the 1950s.

Further Reading

• Dominique Clément, Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movements and Social Change, 1937-1982 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2008).
• John W. Cleveland. "New Left, Not New Liberal: 1960s Movements in English Canada and Quebec." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 41, no. 1 (2004): 67-84.
• Lewis Feuer, The Conflict of Generations: The Character and Significance of Student Movements (New York: Basic Books, 1969).
  
• Jaymie Heilman. "Offspring as Enemy? How Canada's National Magazine Confronted Youth and Youth Culture in the 1960s." Past Imperfect 6 (1997): 73-110.
• M.J. Heale, The Sixties in America: History, Politics and Protest (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2001).
  
• Myrna Kostash, Long Way From Home: The Story of the Sixties Generation in Canada (Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1980).
• Doug Owram, Born at the Right Time: A History of the Baby Boom Generation, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996.
• Doug Owram and Kenneth Norrie , History of the Canadian Economy, Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
• Staggenborg, Suzanne. Social Movements. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2007.