Has Canada benefited from 25 years of free trade with the U.S.?

Did you know that free trade between the United States and Canada turned 25 last week?

If you are on the American side, you might not even know of the agreement that eventually launched the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or any news of an anniversary.

The October 4 anniversary of the U.S.-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) made news on the Canadian side. The FTA didn't go into effect until January 2, 1988.

Most Americans knowledge of free trade is that Bill Clinton signed the NAFTA deal into effect and that Mexico is the third country involved. Though the U.S. press associates Clinton with NAFTA, that agreement was negotiated between Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Mulroney and Bush's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, negotiated the original FTA.

Mulroney, a Progressive Conservative, was the one who pushed for free trade between the two countries. In fact, after the FTA went through, Mulroney called a federal election that centered around whether Canada should have free trade with the United States. True, Mulroney lost 34 seats in that 1988 election and it was the last majority government as the Progressive Conservatives. The PC total went from 203 to 169, still enough for a majority of the then-295 seat Parliament.

The question 25 years later is whether free trade has been good for Canada, the United States, and the relationship between the two countries.

Softwood lumber has been an issue for Canada since free trade was developed. Loss of sovereignty has been an issue for Canada. Loss of jobs, too.

When Canadians speak badly of free trade, their focus is on the United States, both in the FTA and NAFTA. For "Americans," the concern has been Mexico, not Canada. For our friends on the Balance of Food side, the infiltration of high-fructose corn syrup is a gigantic concern for Canadians and Mexicans.

Each country is the other's largest trading partner. Canada is a country that relies heavily on exports, and free trade has increased those exports.

So this is your chance to weigh in: what do you think about 25 years of free trade? Has free trade benefited Canadians? "Americans"? Let us know in the comments section below.

Comments

[CQ]

I'm not sure. I do know that Canada has a wide graveyard of former long-time domestically owned businesses while its FTA-protected cultural/ communications sector has only grown more consolidated and powerful. So too for our ever-compressing circle of banking and investments. In-between we've still had the much-heralded failures of Bre-X and Nortel while they completely dominated our Cdn stock market.

[Chad]

I agree about the mixed bag. Having the companies increase exports while staying in business would have been the best scenario.