ON THIS DAY

February 5, 1963 – Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s government fell after two nonconfidence votes. The minority government was deeply shaken by the controversy that erupted over plans to fit American Bomarc missiles already located in Canada with nuclear warheads. The Conservatives were in turmoil: Minister of Defence Douglas Harkness resigned, followed by the associate minister of defence and the minister of trade and commerce. The government had been in place for just eight months.