Canada played an active role in the United Nations from the time of the organization's inception after the war (see United Nations). King retired in favor of Louis St. Laurent in 1948, after having held office for a longer period than any other prime minister in Canada's history (see Saint Laurent). In 1949 Newfoundland joined the Confederation as the tenth province. In the same year Canada became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. When the United Nations took action to defend South Korea from invasion by North Korea, Canada contributed units from all three branches of its armed forces. During the hostilities (1950-53) approximately 27,000 Canadians saw service in the Far East.

The appointment of the first native-born Canadian as governor-general occurred when the Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey was sworn into office in 1952. Massey had been chairman of the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences.

The St. Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959. It was formally dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II and President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States.

On Feb. 15, 1965, Canada raised a red and white maple-leaf flag. It was adopted by Parliament in December 1964 and was Canada's first official national flag.

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