Cold War Educational Package

Cover of the February 2025 issue of Kayak. Colour illustration shows children playing with toy soldiers and a rocket.

Almost as soon as the Second World War ended, Canada was plunged into a new kind of war. Instead of being far away from the fighting we were positioned between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which were now sworn enemies.

The threat of nuclear war hung over the Cold War years, which lasted until 1991. The government asked ordinary Canadians to get involved in civil defence, including fallout shelters to help protect them like it planned to protect top officials. These scary times meant people suspected of being communists were searched out, with sometimes unfair results.

Learn more about this unusual period of our past in the February issue of Kayak.

Download the PDF

Lesson Plans

Chilling Times Timeline

This lesson will guide students in creating a collaborative timeline about Cold War events.

The Cold War Effect

Students will consider the ethical questions of war and how the events of the Cold War continue to influence foreign policy and Canadians today.

Tracing the Tensions of the Cold War

In this lesson, students will examine the context of the Cold War and the causes that led to the conflict.

KAYAK CONTEST

Cold War Chronicles

Have students write a creative newspaper headline about an important Cold War event that involved Canada — then submit it for a chance to win a Kayak prize pack!

LISTEN & LEARN

Gouzenko Deciphered

Evy Wilson, the daughter of Igor and Svetlana Gouzenko, remembers her parents’ stories on the 75th anniversary of their escape to Canada — the first Cold War defection.

Cold War Tech and Its Discontents

The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was a radar defence network in Canada’s Arctic. A Cold War engineering marvel, with terrible effects on the land and Inuit communities.