Canada’s New Official Flag

  
The history of Canada’s flag started in the late 1800s,
but it wasn’t until December 16th that the flag of today
became official. Pearson, who became prime minister in
1964, was adamant in changing the flag away from the
Union Jack of Britain. There was much debate, and the
Members of Parliament cancelled their summer vacations
to continue it. An all-party committee of 15 people
decided on the final design, and Conservatives voted with
163 in favour, and 78 against - it was official. 

"The flag is the symbol of the nation's unity, for it,

beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada
without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion."
 Expo ‘67
  Canada celebrated its centennial birthday in 1967.
It was a great celebration that held a World’s Fair,
named Expo ’67, in Montreal, Quebec. The theme of
the event was “Man and His World”, and suggested
an optimistic view into the late ‘60s. 50 million
people from over 60 countries around the world
were attracted to it. Canada, the normally reserved
country, staged a year-long demonstration of their
pride. The new Canadian flag received universal
acceptance as a symbol of pride. 
 The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War military
conflict that began in the year 1955 and didn’t end
until the mid 70s. Canada played a big part in it,
although in the media it was the peacekeeping
country. 20 000 Americans who tried to escape
mandatory enlistment (draft dodgers) came across
the border to stay in Canada, where they were
accepted. Although not mandatory in Canada, 30
thousand Canadians enlisted in the war, but were
there unofficially, as Canada had not officially
“joined” the war. Canada did, however, make a large
sum of money ($10 billion) from selling war
ammunition, etc, to the Americans. 
   
In the 60s, Canada signed an agreement with NASA
to launch 4 Canadian satellites. The launch of the
Alouette I in September 1962 made Canada the third
nation in space. The mission of carrying out
experiments with the satellite was a success.
Afterwards, satellite technology started to be used
for telecommunications throughout Canada.