Canadian-American relations and the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea, 1947 to 1948

This Master's thesis examines Canadian-American relations and the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK) from late 1947 until late 1948. UNTCOK was a UN body with a mandate to facilitate the unification and independence of Korea by observing elections in Korea, the establishment of the government, the transfer of governmental powers from the occupation forces to the new government, and the withdrawal of foreign troops. UNTCOK's mandate was originally intended for the whole of Korea. The Canadian government reluctantly accepted membership on UNTCOK, however, the Canadian prime minister, William Lyon MacKenzie King, was adamantly opposed to Canada's participation to the point where a Cabinet crisis ensued. King's subsequent compromise to allow Canada's participation on UNTCOK only if the Soviet occupied zone of North Korea co-operated laid the foundation for a clash in Canadian and American policies over Korea. In terms of Canadian-American relations, the developments and controversies surrounding UNTCOK reflected the difficulty for American middle power allies, like Canada, to follow through on any policy that did not fall in line with the US formula for containing communism.