Building Sanctuary
Building Sanctuary
The Movement to Support Vietnam War Resisters in Canada, 1965-73
Canada enjoys a reputation as a peaceable kingdom and a refuge from militarism.Yet Canadians during the Vietnam War era met American war resisters not with open arms but with political obstacles and resistance, and the border remained closed to what were then called “draft dodgers” and “deserters.”
Between 1965 and 1973, a small but active cadre of Canadian antiwar groups and peace activists launched campaigns to open the border. Jessica Squires tells their story, often in their own words. Drawing on interviews and government documents, she reveals that although these groups’ efforts ultimately met with success and helped shaped debates about nationalism and Canada’s relationship with the United States, they had to overcome state surveillance and resistance from police, politicians, and bureaucrats.
The sixties live on in the memories of those who experienced them and in the imagination of a new generation seeking a deeper knowledge of contemporary protest movements. By telling the story of the Canadian movement to support Vietnam war resisters, Building Sanctuary not only brings to light overlooked links between the anti-draft movement and immigration policy – it challenges cherished notions about Canada in the 1960s and Canadian-American relations today.
This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in Canadian history, identity, nationalism, and social movements.
Building Sanctuary is a fascinating study of war resistance and the sixties in North America. Based on official police records as well as oral interviews and newspaper evidence, it not only tells the engrossing story of the immigration to Canada of about forty thousand US war resisters but also subtly analyzes the political and ethical issues raised by resistance to the War in Vietnam. At a time when a reactivated militarism once more challenges progressives throughout the world, Jessica Squires provides us with an inspiring, insightful account of how an earlier generation of activists fought the madness of war – and emerged with some precious, if fragile, victories. A must-read for students of modern Canada, antiwar activism, and the sixties.
Preface
Introduction: War Resisters in Context
1 We Help Them Because Their Need Is Great: The Canadian Anti-Draft Movement
2 Transnational Connections: US Groups and Other Canadian Groups
3 Deserters: Treatment, Tactics, Identity
4 Opening the Border: 1969
5 The Limits of Left Nationalism: The Campaign to Open the Border
6 Hegemonic Reflections: Inside and Outside the Movement
7 Last Chance to Get Landed: Immigration Department Strategies, Anti-Draft Movement Responses, 1971-73
Conclusion: A Contested Refuge from Militarism
Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index
