He [Diefenbaker] committed himself to accepting nuclear warheads for Canadian weapon systems -- that was in '58 -- and he did that without any reflection, without any hesitation. He felt that it was the necessary thing to do because of the dangers of the Cold War and he did it enthusiastically. It was only when he realized from early 1960 on that there was a growing part of the public that didn't share that view of the importance of taking on nuclear weapons, that he began to hesitate. The weapons were still being developed and he hadn't signed the agreements with the United States to take the warheads so that he then, from the time that he sensed that there was a growing public opposition, backed off from those agreements which he had very clearly made with the United States.
