CANADA: Political Bomb

In Canada, where a national campaign moved toward the March 31 election date, Liberal Challenger Lester Bowles Pearson uncorked a dramatic bid for votes. Reversing a stand he held when he was Secretary of State for External Affairs, Pearson declared that Canada should press for an immediate ban on nuclear-bomb tests.

It was the first time that either candidate had introduced the delicate and contentious issue of atomic-arms control into the campaign. Tory Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, seemingly holding a solid lead in his bid for a new mandate, ignored the Pearson proposal, went right on talking about domestic affairs. The Gallup poll gave the Tories 56% of the minds-made-up voters, v. 32% for the Liberals.