Croc, I think you're talking about the BOMARC system.
aviation.technomuses.ca
February 4, 1963
March 3, 1965: Bomarc missile in firing position at RCAF Station North Bay, Ontario.
Cpl D.I. Robertson
In Ottawa, Minister of National Defence Douglas Harkness resigns from Cabinet because he disagrees with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's position on atomic weapons. Since 1957, when the NORAD Agreement came into force, Canada and the United States have been discussing the deployment of atomic weapons in Canada, under NORAD command, and with Canadian units in Germany, under NATO command. In 1958, Mr. Diefenbaker announced that two squadrons of Bomarc-B anti-aircraft missiles would be stationed at North Bay, Ontario and La Macaza, Quebec. Since that time, Canadian society has become involved in bitter debate over the morality and effectiveness of atomic weapons. President John F. Kennedy of the United States is now demanding that Canada accept delivery of the atomic warheads that the Bomarc is designed to carry. Over the weekend, Mr. Diefenbaker admitted that he will never agree to the arrival on Canadian soil of American atomic weapons. Mr. Harkness believes that Mr. Diefenbaker is wilfully ignoring the realities of world politics and endangering Canada's position in NATO.
The Bomarc is an American surface-to-air guided missile with a 640-km range bought under the NORAD Agreement, an acquisition that helped kill the Avro Arrow. Development of the Bomarc did not go well, and the Americans manufacture it now mainly because Canada is committed to it. Defence officials on both sides of the border are all keenly aware that Canadian defence planning is based on adopting atomic weapons, and new weapons platforms-for example, the CF-104 Starfighter are designed and built for an atomic role. So Mr. Diefenbaker's decision could wreck years of planning and preparation.
On February 5, Mr. Harkness's resignation forces a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons; consequently, the Tories' minority government collapses and a minority Liberal government takes power under Lester B. Pearson. The disputed warheads are delivered on December 31, 1963, and they remain in the Canadian armoury until Prime Minister Trudeau withdraws the Canadian Forces from nuclear tasks in 1969.
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