The Avro Arrow is a topic that has fascinated Canadians since its controversial cancellation in 1959. However, in the last ten years the narrative has changed dramatically from an American plot to ruin our aerospace industry to a decision made by the Canadian government based on very real calculations about the security threat to North America and the changing defence landscape of the late 1950s. In this episode we talk with Alan Barnes who has recently uncovered some incredible research that shows how important Canadian intelligent services were to the decision to cancel the Avro Arrow project. Alan has clearly uncovered that not only was the cancellation of the Arrow a highly calculated move by the Diefenbaker government but Canada’s newly established intelligence services played a key role in helping the Canadian government predict the future of defence issues which in turn spelled the end of the Arrow project.
Alan Barnes was an analyst and a manager of analysts in the Canadian intelligence community for over 25 years. He served as a military intelligence officer, and as the Middle East analyst in the Political Intelligence Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Mr. Barnes moved to the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat (IAS) of the Privy Council Office when that organization was formed in 1993 and was the Director of the IAS Middle East and Africa Division from 1995 until his retirement in 2011. Mr. Barnes played a key role in the IAS's efforts to improve analytical tradecraft and in the training of new analysts. Since his retirement Mr. Barnes has continued his work on issues related to intelligence assessment. He is currently researching the history of strategic intelligence in Canada since 1945 and is Project Co-Leader of the Canadian Foreign Intelligence History Project (CFIHP).
CFIHP is a collaborative effort to encourage the study of foreign intelligence in Canada and to facilitate access to archival records on this subject. By working together, researchers have a better chance of overcoming the many challenges associated with working in this field.
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S6E5 John Labatt’s and the Windy City
S6E4 Bert and Ernie Eh? The Canadianization of Sesame Street
S6E3 A Century of Service: The Life of Nova Scotian Provo Wallis, Admiral of the Fleet
S6E2 Clio’s Treats: Culinary Connections to Canadian History
S6E1 Chaos in the Cariboo Sky: The Crash of Canadian Pacific Flight 21
S5E20 The Underground Railroad
S5E19 A Lost Cause? Canada’s Diplomatic Involvement in the Vietnam War
S5E18 Nuns on the Frontier – The Ursulines of Quebec
S5E17 The Dutch Food Crisis and Operation Faust
S5E16 The Wabanaki Confederacy
S5E15 The Coloured Corps and the War of 1812
S5E14 – Un-Canadian Content? Bryan Adams and the Waking up the Neighbours Controversy
S5E13 Leo Major – A French-Canadian Rambo
S5E12 Kicking in the Door – Canada Invades Nazi Germany
S5E11 The Mad Trapper of Rat River
S5E10 An Uphill Skate – The Women of the Hockey Hall of Fame
1867 & All That
S5E9 Cougar Annie – The Wild Woman of Vancouver Island
S5E8 Little Stalingrad – The Battle for Ortona, December 1943
S5E7 Tricky Bob and the 1917 Federal Election
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