Tour Canada's Cold War Museum near Ottawa known as the Diefenbunker, complex underground warren of protection in the event of a nuclear war.

Diefenbunker was the nickname given to Canada’s emergency Government headquarters, built during the Cold War to protect government officials in the event of a nuclear attack. Several underground bunkers were constructed across the country with authorization from Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition dubbed the facilities Diefenbunkers, and the name stuck. Although most of these facilities were decommissioned in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a group of volunteers banded together to preserve the bunker in Carp, Ontario, near Ottawa.

Canada’s Cold War Museum

It looks like a simple 2-storey metal shed standing behind a large metal fence in a field. But walking downhill along the interior’s long circular tunnel, surrounded by two-foot thick concrete walls, you quickly realize that this is no ordinary building. At the end of the tunnel lies an elevator that goes even further down -- four stories, in fact -- into a complex bunker.

It took 32,000 tons of concrete, 5,000 tons of reinforcing steel, and $20-30 million to create a facility to house 500 people for 30 days underground. However, unlike Britain’s Cabinet War Rooms which had been used during World War II, the Diefenbunker was never used for its original purpose. There was never a nuclear war, and it was only ever used by military personnel as a communications base. No prime minister ever had to stay there, although Pierre Trudeau once stopped in for lunch.

Highlights of the Tour

Canada's Cold War Museum is open year-round, with guided tours available in English (weekdays at 2:00 p.m.; weekends at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.) and in French (weekends at 11:00 a.m.). Some of its fascinating rooms include:

• the dormitories filled with bunk beds, known as “hot beds” because if their unique sharing arrangements. No bed would cool down because as soon as one person left to go to work, another person would get off shift and climb in to sleep.
• a large cafeteria of chrome, plastic laminate and linoleum, reminiscent of The Jetsons
• the CBC Radio announcer’s booth for broadcasting news of the nuclear war. One has to ask – Who would be around to listen?
• a large vault for the Bank of Canada where gold reserves would be stored. Again one must ask – How the gold was to be transported during a nuclear attack?
• an operating room and the sick bay
• the prime minister's bedroom with enough space for one. (Apparently the PM’s spouse wasn’t considered important enough to be allowed this safety and security.)

The museum provides a fascinating peek into a bygone era that was really not all that long ago. For more information call 01.613.839.0007 (in Canada: 1.800.409.1965).