Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the Golden Telephone: a national security tale
In this last newsletter for 2024, a bit of a change of focus - a story about the Golden Telephone that once (still?) connects the PM to the President
Last week I had a guest column at The Sunday Administrative Review as part of Mark Mancini's “Vavilov at 5 symposium”.
As a result of that publication, I had a small flurry of new subscribers. To those new subscribers, I say "be patient". This newsletter is the last one of the year and very different from the usual. As the holiday season approaches my concentration wanes - so I thought an amusing anecdote of simpler times in US/Canada relations might be a nice way to glide out of 2024.
At the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Canadian officials realized that it would be a good idea to have a direct line to the US president and NORAD command. In November 1962, the Gold Telephones were installed in then-Prime Minister Diefenbaker's office and residence, and he was provided with instructions on how to use them.
The instructions were straightforward: "It is only necessary to pick up the phone and ask the Duty Officer to place the call."
There were no numbers to dial—the telephone immediately connected to the Air Force Headquarters Operations Centre, which was monitored around the clock. The Canadian Duty Officer, on receiving directions from the Canadian caller, would connect with an American Duty Officer in Washington, who would then connect to the appropriate U.S. official.
By the summer of 1965, then Prime Minister Lester Pearson had another Gold Telephone installed at the summer residence at Harrington Lake, “in a clothes closet in the Prime Minister’s bedroom.”
For the full story of the Gold Telephone program, Tim Sayle has a good overview.
In my research for a radio show about the diplomatic incident during Oscar Peterson’s Russian tour of 1974, I reviewed the personal files of Canada’s ambassador to Russia at the time, R.A.D. Ford. Although I came up short on any references to Oscar Peterson, I did come across a letter he wrote to someone at the Department of External Affairs shortly after a visit with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau at Harrington Lake in early April 1973. The letter recounts their discussion and includes what he called "one rather entertaining anecdote".
At about 10.30 at night, Margaret suddenly said she had forgotten that a certain member of the Cabinet had called the Prime Minister and asked that he phone back urgently. (He did not seem to take it very seriously, however, as he had not phoned back by the time we left.) Anyhow, this reminded the Prime Minister of a few week-ends previously when the "gold phone", which is kept in the cupboard went out of order on a Friday night. This is the line which keeps the Prime Minister in direct touch with NORAD and of course NDC and External Operations Centre. The technician said it could not be repaired until Monday. There was some consideration as to whether or not they should get in some special repairman from Ottawa, and the Prime Minister finally, in one of his typical "shrugs", said he figured there wouldn't be a war before Monday morning.
R.A.D. Ford in the East Block (1973), National Archives of Canada, R4150-27-9-E, Volume 7
Trudeau also told Ford that on one occasion they had hidden the golden telephone so well nobody could find it, and another occasion when there was an exercise to test the efficiency of the NORAD communications system it took one and a half hours to reach him.
R.A.D. Ford was a poet as well as a diplomat. His book, “Our Man in Moscow: A Diplomat's Reflections on the Soviet Union” is full of entertaining anecdotes as well as insights into the Soviet mindset. In this book (p. 345), he quotes the Russian poet and diplomat Fyodor Tyuthchev, from over 150 years before:
Russia cannot be understood
Only with the mind - no normal
Standard can judge her
Greatness. She stands alone, unique.
In Russia one must only believe
Ford concluded:
While a debatable proposition then and now, these lines still sum up succinctly the problem for any Westerner in assessing Russia. One can describe the facts as they appear to us, one can try to penetrate the Russian, and the communist, mind, and one can only hope that some slight flicker of illumination may result.
I have three seasonal jazz shows coming up next week. On Christmas Eve day I will be featuring new seasonal releases on YOW Jazz. On Christmas Day night I will be featuring seasonal jazz classics on In A Mellow Tone. And for the truly adventurous, later that night on Rabble Without A Cause I will be featuring the album A Very Ayler Christmas by the Bernard Stepien Orchestra. They will all be available for on demand streaming on Monday.
I'm taking a break from newsletter writing and will be back with the first Adjudicator's Toolkit of 2025 on January 10, with case updates, links and reflections. I wish you all a healthy, happy and productive new year.