Donald Trump’s repeated reflections on Canada’s integration into the United States have – unsurprisingly – caused concern in Ottawa.
“In hell, there is no chance of snowballing,” retorted the Prime Minister Justin Trudeauwhile Finance Minister Dominic Le Blanc said: “The joke is over.” Opposition leaders are also upset, Conservative Pierre Poilievre affirming “Canada will never be the 51st state” according to New Democrat Jagmeet Singh tell the new president to “stop the bullshit”.
Yet the president-elect of the United States continues to push Canada’s buttons. He suggested that the highly integrated economies and trade relations between the two countries were overrated, and claimed that a trade imbalance meant the United States was subsidizing its northern neighbor’s economy.
In doing so, Trump highlighted a lingering concern raised by some on this side of the border: that Canada’s national sovereignty is compromised because of its too-close ties to the United States.
This is not a new concern – in fact, anyone who remembers the first time Canada considered a free trade agreement with the United States in the 1980s, long before Trump’s influence does not extend beyond the Manhattan real estate sector, will have known it.
The road to free trade
During Pierre Trudeau’s final years as prime minister, the wheels were set in motion for Canada to consider entering into a free trade agreement with the United States.
The country was hit by a recession in the early 1980sand in 1982, a Royal Commission was establishedled by Donald Macdonald, a former Liberal minister. One of its objectives was to examine the future prospects and challenges of the Canadian economy.
When the commission’s report came back in 1985, it endorsed Canada seeking a free trade path forward with the United States – with the goal of building improved and secure access to the American market, but nonetheless noting that “the denial of this access is a problem never seen before”. -current threat.”
The Macdonald report called for Canada to enter into a free trade agreement with the United States.
Then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, whose Progressive Conservatives had won power at the expense of the Liberals a year earlier, was intrigued by the commission’s findings.
“There is a certain degree of hard work there that is evident, as well as some very interesting accomplishments and ideas that will need to be carefully considered,” Mulroney said.
Some business leaders were excited about the prospect of a future free trade agreement, while labor groups were very concerned, particularly about the job losses that could occur.
Not all politicians agreed either.
“If we move towards a free trade agreement with the United States, I think the political consequences are very clear,” said Bob Rae, then leader of the New Democratic Party in Ontario.
“Don’t ask the people who are elected at the provincial or federal level to do a great job in managing the economy, because all these decisions will be made in New York, in Chicago and in Washington and we will just become a client of the UNITED STATES. “.
Reporter Mike Duffy explains how the deal came together at the last minute.
Nevertheless, Ottawa began negotiations with Washington. A proposed agreement was reached in October 1987, and the free trade agreement was signed by Mulroney and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in January 1988.
But free trade had not yet come into force.
Liberal Leader John Turner signaled his party would not make it easy for the government to implement what he called “the Sell Canada Act.”
“We intend to fight across the country, we intend to fight in Parliament,” Turner said. “We intend to fight it at every turn.”
NDP Leader Ed Broadbent said there hasn’t been “an open and honest debate” on all the details of what free trade would entail.
Margaret Thatcher’s point of view
The vast debate over free trade even saw Margaret Thatcher intervene during the British Prime Minister’s visit to Canada in June 1988.
In 1988, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Canada and made headlines with her remarks on free trade when she addressed MPs in Ottawa.
“Do not fear that the national character of Canada will be diminished in any way. [in pursuing a free-trade deal]” said Thatcher.
Her unsolicited comment in Parliament would see the country’s opposition leaders denounce the so-called Iron Lady for her intrusion into domestic politics.
“She has intervened in our national debate on an issue that is likely to dominate the next general election in this country,” Turner said later in the day.
“We are no longer a colony of Great Britain and we do not want to become a colony of the United States,” he added.
The NDP’s Broadbent questioned whether Thatcher had the right to “come here and meddle in Canadian affairs.”
Turner urged Mulroney to call an election to give Canadians a chance to weigh in on the issue. When the election was called in early October, Mulroney declared that free trade would be the centerpiece of the campaign that would send Canadians to the polls the following month.
Free trade and national sovereignty
The Liberals and New Democrats quickly insisted that a televised debate be devoted solely to the issue. But the Progressive Conservatives were reluctant to this idea.
Broadbent suggested that Mulroney understood that “the more Canadians know about the trade deal he negotiated with the United States, the more unhappy they become.”
In 1988, the Liberals and New Democrats wanted to have a televised debate focused solely on the issue of free trade. The PCs were cool with the idea.
The controversial topic was indeed part of upcoming debates between the leaders – including concerns over how the deal could impact Canada’s national sovereignty.
Turner argued that a transition to free trade would limit Canada’s ability to escape American control.
“I think you sold us out,” Turner told Mulroney during the English-language debate on October 25, 1988.
In his response, Mulroney denied the accusation and said his Liberal opponent had “no monopoly on patriotism.”
A report by Don Newman and Wendy Mesley on the leaders’ debate with Brian Mulroney, John Turner and Ed Broadbent. Aired October 25, 1988 on CBC’s The National.
Mulroney’s Conservatives would return to power – again with an overwhelming majority, but with fewer seats than before.
The 1988 election would be the last in which Mulroney, Turner and Broadbent led their respective parties.
Turner died in September 2020. Broadbent and Mulroney died in 2024. The fierce battle for free trade was part of their legacies as federal leaders.
The original free trade agreement between Canada and the United States came into effect on the first day of 1989.
Five years later, it was replaced by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Then, in April 2020, NAFTA was replaced by CUSMA – the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement – which was negotiated at Trump’s request during his first term in the White House.
After his re-election in November, Trump announced he would impose 25% tariffs on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico. This threat, as well as his subsequent remarks about the “51st State”, were seen by some as a sign of his intention to renegotiate CUSMA.
On New Year’s Eve 1988, CBC reported on the free trade agreement that would come into effect the next day.
