Tens of thousands of young men went to Canada to avoid being conscripted to fight in Vietnam. Some Canadians welcomed them and others wanted nothing to do with these “hippies.” But many of those who stayed — and half did — would go on to be leaders in their communities as politicians, environmental activists, and teachers. Jimmy Thomson reports on what happened in the West Kootenays region of British Columbia, and the lasting imprint of America’s draft dodgers on Canada’s small towns.
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