Privacy was not possible for most people in the Bunker. The prime minister and the governor general were the only two who had their own private suite. The first room is the office of the prime minister’s secretary. Through that is the prime minister’s office, and further in, the prime minister’s bedroom and private bathroom.

From these rooms, the sitting prime minister would have carried out the leadership of a cold war turned hot.

At the time of the Bunker’s construction, that prime minister was John Diefenbaker. Diefenbaker served as prime minister between 1957 and 1963. He appointed the first woman to the Cabinet, Ellen Fairclough, and the first Indigenous person to the Senate, Akay-na-muka also known as James Gladstone of the Kainai First Nation. His government also passed the Canadian Bill of Rights.

Diefenbaker found it hard to convince Canadians of the need to protect the nation against a nuclear attack. In 1957, in parliament, he is quoted saying, “People do not want to believe there is going to be an atomic bombing of Canada. The thought disturbs our equanimity. We like to look at the situation as though we were protected and insulated by many thousands of miles of sea and a northern ice cap. It is going to require an educational campaign to make the people realize the danger in which we find ourselves.”

The single bed highlights a harsh reality: no one, not even the prime minister, could bring their family with them. Diefenbaker himself never set foot in the Bunker. Many believe that had there been a nuclear attack, Diefenbaker would have refused to come to the Bunker without his beloved wife, Olive.

Diefenbaker was not alone in making this difficult choice. Everyone who was posted to the Bunker was supposed to have made separate arrangements for the safety of their families in a nuclear war. Garry Dowd, who worked in a variety of communications roles in the Bunker, and radio technician Helen Rosseau, describe how they felt about the so-called “no family rule”.

“…the odd thing that was always in my mind when I got married, “I might have to come in here and never see my wife again. Or see my young baby boy.” Because you would have to report for duty. If there was a threat, you might never see them again. They’d be ashes. It was in your mind. It had to be. Cause that was the way things were put to you in that.”

“...Would you come in and leave your family? Or would you stay with your family? And that was, you know, we asked that question of many people and said, what would your dilemma be? Would you come in to protect the site, and work the communications, or would you stay with your family? And I think it was about 50-50 what the guys said. Cause they said if it’s a nuclear attack, basically the only ones going to survive are the ones in the bunker. So. It was sort of a matter well you might as well go with your family.”

When you are finished here, find the stairs and take them down to the 200/100 level. Please be careful as you descend and pay attention to some of the raised steps between rooms below.