Why did Canadians volunteer to fight in the Vietnam War?

Is the boundary between Canada and the U.S. really the "longest undefended border" in the world? What are some of the lesser-known reasons that people have crossed this human-drawn line?

In the latest episode of The Secret Life of Canada — The Medicine Line — co-hosts Leah Simone-Bowen and Falen Johnson look the long and complex history of the Canada/U.S. border and how its creation impacted the environment and Indigenous communities who live on the line.

Also, as American draft dodgers came north to Canada to evade government-mandated service in the Vietnam War, why did thousands of Canadians head the opposite direction to serve voluntarily?

What you'll hear this episode:

• An immersive introduction to "The Medicine Line" — an imperceptible boundary known to the Lakota and other Indigenous people. 
• How the Americans and the British decided where the border between the U.S. and Canada should be. Plus, a clause in Jay's Treaty that wasn't equally recognized by both sides. 
• What is the slash, and how does it maintains the divide between the U.S. and Canada? (Note: this slash has nothing to do with Guns N' Roses.)
• The environmental impact of the border. A case study on salmon migration, courtesy of Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown of AsapSCIENCE and the Sidenote podcast. 
• An incredibly brief history of the Vietnam War. (We're talking three minutes plus a couple bites of beef patty.)
• Why Canadian volunteers went south to fight for the U.S. even as American draft dodgers came north to evade the same war in Vietnam. 

References

• The Metis and The Medicine Line: Creating a Border and Dividing a People. Book by Michel Hogue. 
• Gene Boy Came Home. Documentary by Alanis Obomsawin.
• A Not-So-Straight Story. Opinion piece by Frank Jacobs, published by the New York Times.
• Jay's Treaty. Reference article from the Library of Congress. 
• Jay's Treaty  Reference article from the Canadian Encyclopedia. 
• The Slash. Travel log in Atlas Obscura. 
• The Slash: 20-Foot Clearing Stretches 5,525 Miles Across World's Longest Border. Podcast episode from 99% Invisible, produced by Kurt Kohlstedt. 
• You are on Indian Land. NFB documentary by Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell. 
• International Boundary Commission. Website.
• Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood. Book by Joshua Keating
• ​The 49th Parallel View: How Did Canada And The U.S. Get Divvied Up That Way? Timeline in World Atlas.
• Mohawk Council of the Akwesasne. Website. 
• Columbia River Treaty. History fact sheet from the B.C. government. 
• Imprinting to chemical cues: the basis for home stream selection in salmon. Journal by AT Scholz, RM Horrall, JC Cooper, AD Hasler, published by Science.   
• There used to be salmon as big as golden retrievers in the Columbia River, but dams killed them off. Article by Matt Reimann in Medium.
• Pacific Northwest salmon are in big genetic trouble. Article by Robert F. Service for Science. 
• Dams: impacts on salmon and steelhead. Report by Northwest Power and Conservation Council. 
• Orca and Salmon. Fact sheet by the David Suzuki Foundation.
• What is a fish ladder? Fact sheet by the National Ocean Service. 
• Interview with Tracey Arial, author of I Volunteered: Canadian Vietnam Vets Remember. 
• The Canadian Vietnam Veterans Association. Website including fact sheets and timelines. 
• Lost to History: The Canadians who fought in Vietnam. Article by CBC News.
• Unknown Warriors: Canadians in the Vietnam War. Book by Fred Gaffen. 
• Vietnam, A History. Book by Stanley Karnow. 
• The Vietnam War. A PBS film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick.
• Interview with Mark Satin, author of the Manual for Draft-Age Immigrants to Canada.