NAFTA is dead; long live NAFTA
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Trump administration’s first summer was atypical for Washington, D.C. Whenever we thought the White House might be on track, another political meteor suddenly appeared and knocked everything off balance. The object was not from outer space but from the very heart of the presidency. This was the pattern the president set on his […]
Free trade at 30: a conversation with Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney was the Canadian architect of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 1987, and later the NAFTA in 1992. Mr. Mulroney has been advising Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and senior Canadian officials, and says he has been impressed by their management of the NAFTA file, and particularly the relationship […]
What the lobbyists are saying: taxes, trade among top lobbying issues as Parliament resumes
The break’s over and lobbyists have a number of pressing issues—taxes and trade, to name a few—they would like to take up with federal politicians who are back in Ottawa for the fall sitting. Parliament’s rise for the summer in June didn’t put a stop to new issues emerging in federal politics. For example, renegotiations […]
NDP caucus heads into busy fall sitting with high spirits, despite public opinion polls
Despite public opinion polls, spirits are high among the federal NDP caucus heading into the fall sitting, with “excitement” over tripled membership numbers and a soon-to-be elected new leader, and NDP House Leader Murray Rankin says he’s expecting it to be a busy one. “We’ve got exciting stuff going on in many provinces, you’ve got […]
Trade minister boosts policy team by two, including ex-China consul general
He may not be leading NAFTA renegotiations for the government, but International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne has two new policy advisers to help out on another priority file: trade with Asia. As Canada and China explore opening negotiations toward a joint trade deal, Mr. Champagne has hired Philippe Rheault, who was until recently Canada’s first consul general […]
Trump’s NAFTA hatred may help Canada
TORONTO—In a strange way, Donald Trump’s disdain for the North American Free Trade Agreement may do Canada a favour. He may end up forcing this country to reduce its dependence on the United States. We know that the U.S. president doesn’t like NAFTA. It is one of the few consistent positions he holds. He routinely […]
Pharmacare: don’t let NAFTA 2.0 stand in the way
Canada is closer today than ever before to achieving a public prescription drug plan for everyone. Provinces, cities, labour unions, businesses, doctors, nurses, health-care workers, economists, and patient groups have come together to form one of the broadest coalitions in Canadian history—in favour of a national pharmacare program. Nevertheless, NAFTA poses an existential threat to […]
Good for Tories, Grits for mature co-operation on NAFTA
They’re allowed to disagree with the government. Heck, that’s a huge part of their job. But when it comes to NAFTA, the official opposition Conservatives have taken a tactful approach so far in not bashing the governing Liberals, and it’s worth continuing under new foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole, international trade critic Dean Allison, and […]
Negotiating NAFTA, the first time: from scare to scripture
John Stewart spent 20 years as an economist and manager with the United States Embassy in Ottawa. This is the last of two excerpts from his book Strangers with Memories: The United States and Canada from Free Trade to Baghdad, now available from the fall catalogue of McGill-Queen’s University Press. The top priority of the U.S. Embassy in […]
NAFTA’s benefits have not extended to softwood lumber
TORONTO—Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland insists that “NAFTA has been an extraordinary success story.” That’s a debatable claim, given Canada’s loss of market share in the U.S. since NAFTA came into effect, and the widespread closure by U.S. companies of manufacturing plants in Canada as operations were consolidated into U.S. or Mexican facilities. Moreover, given […]
