“This all started w/ taunts of ‘Canada will be the 51st state’ & ‘their Prime Minister will be the 51st governor,'” said Bacon, who is not running for reelection. “The insults gained us nothing but animosity that cost us economically & now militarily.” The board was established in 1940 – a year before the U.S. entered World War II – by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, according to the Congressional Research Service. Also known as the Ogdensburg Agreement, it helped provide
a framework for continental defense during World War II and then the Cold War, according to the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. The board provided advice on the implementation of North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. The joint command was formed by the two countries in the 1950s to spot potential enemy attacks as tensions rose with the Soviet Union, along with fears of nuclear war. The board was also involved in the setup of early
warning systems using radar stations, the Mulroney Institute said, and advised on the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which links the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
US Canada defense effort pause Ogdensburg Agreement 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt Mackenzie King NORAD early warning radar St. Lawrence Seaway Cold War Soviet Union nuclear war Bacon