War Resisters Canada

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 public 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. Interviews and government documents reveal that although these groups ultimately met with success – in the process shaping Canadian identity and Canada’s relationship with the United States – they had to overcome state surveillance and resistance from police, politicians, and bureaucrats. Building Sanctuary not only brings to light overlooked links between the anti-draft movement and Canadian immigration policy – it challenges cherished notions about Canadian identity and Canada in the 1960s.

More than 50,000 Americans migrated to Canada during the Vietnam War. Hagan, himself a member of the exodus, searched declassified government files, consulted previously unopened resistance organization archives and contemporary oral histories, and interviewed American war resisters settled in Toronto to learn how they made the momentous decision.

In February 2004 the first of many U.S. soldiers came to Canada, seeking sanctuary after saying "no" to the war on Iraq. Unlike the Vietnam War when over 40,000 draft dodgers and military deserters successfully struggled to make Canada their home, this new generation of war resisters has been denied refuge by the Canadian government. Now they fight a battle they could not have predicted: to make their home in a country that publicly refused to join the Iraq War and that continues to deport them. Let Them Stay is a book of oral histories, public statements and personal narratives by these soldiers of conscience and their supporters. Collected together for the first time are the declarations of a dozen war resisters, alongside important documents in the legal and political campaign to prevent their deportation to military prison in the U.S. The anthology includes essays and updates by Rachel Brett, Lawrence Hill, Staughton Lynd, Alyssa Manning, Patricia Molloy, Noah Richler, Michelle Robidoux and Michael Valpy.

Historians, veterans, museums, and public education campaigns have all documented and commemorated the experience of Canadians in times of war. But Canada also has a long, rich, and important historical tradition of resistance to both war and militarization. This collection brings together the work of sixteen scholars on the history of war resistance. Together they explore resistance to specific wars (including the South African War, the First and Second World Wars, and Vietnam), the ideology and nature of resistance (national, ethical, political, spiritual), and organized activism against militarization (such as cadet training, the Cold War, and nuclear arms). As the federal government continues to support the commemoration and celebration of Canada’s participation in past wars, this collection offers a timely response that explores the complexity of Canada’s position in times of war and the role of social movements in challenging the militarization of Canadian society.

When U.S. war resisters turned to Canada as refuge during the Vietnam War and the Afghanistan/Iraq Wars, they not only hoped to forestall deployment to a combat zone but also to build new lives and make a new home abroad. In her empirical study, Sarah J. Grünendahl explores and juxtaposes how well the two war resister 'generations' have been able to establish themselves after all and to what extent they partake in Canadian society. The comparison is instructive for migration and refugee studies altogether: The war resisters in the sample, unlike many other migrant populations, did not have to contend with language and cultural barriers in their destination country, given similarities between the United States and Canada. Sarah J. Grünendahl's research thus allows for an analysis of the effects of residency on migrants' adaptation and participation in the receiving society, isolated from these two common barriers. Further, the study sheds light on how refugees and non-citizens can employ civic engagement to claim a place for themselves and overcome societal exclusion.