Donald Trump repeated thoughts regarding the annexation of Canada to the United States they have – not surprisingly – raised eyebrows in Ottawa.
“There's no chance in hell for a snowball,” the Prime Minister countered Justin Trudeauand the Minister of Finance Dominic Le Blanc he remarked, “The joke's over.” Opposition leaders are similarly exasperated, including conservative Pierre Poilievre stating “Canada will never be the 51st state” and New Democrat Jagmeet Singh tell the future president to “cut the shit.”
Yet the American president-elect continues to do so pushing Canada's buttons. He suggested that the highly integrated economies and trade relations between the two countries are overrated, and also stated that the trade imbalance means the United States is subsidizing the economy of its northern neighbor.
In doing so, Trump highlighted persistent concerns expressed by some on this side of the border, namely that Canada's national sovereignty is at risk because of its too close ties to the United States.
This isn't a new concern – it will be familiar to anyone who remembers when Canada first encountered a free trade agreement with the U.S. in the 1980s, long before Trump's influence spread beyond Manhattan's real estate sector.
The road to free trade
During Pierre Trudeau's final years as prime minister, there were suggestions that Canada would consider concluding a free trade agreement with the U.S.
The country was affected recession in the early 1980sand in 1982 A Royal Commission was establishedheaded by Donald Macdonald, a former Liberal cabinet minister. Among its goals was to explore future prospects and challenges for the Canadian economy.
When the Commission returned to its report in 1985, it expressed support for Canada seeking a path to further develop free trade with the U.S. with a view to building better and more secure access to the U.S. market, but noted that “the denial of that access there is an always-present threat.”
Macdonald's report supported Canada's pursuit of a free trade agreement with the US
Then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, whose Progressive Conservatives had come to power at the expense of liberals a year earlierhe was intrigued by what the committee found.
“There is clearly a lot of hard work and achievement here, as well as some very interesting ideas that will need to be carefully examined,” he added. Mulroney said.
Some business leaders they were delighted with this prospect future free trade agreement, while labor groups had serious concerns – including about possible job losses.
Not all politicians were on board either.
“If we move towards a free trade agreement with the United States, I think the political implications will be very clear,” said Bob Rae, then leader of the Ontario New Democrats.
“Don't ask provincially or federally elected people to do a great job managing the economy, because all those decisions will be made in New York, Chicago and Washington, and we'll just become a client of the United States.”
Reporter Mike Duffy explains how the last-minute deal came together.
Nevertheless, Ottawa began negotiations with Washington. The proposed agreement was reached in October 1987, and a free trade agreement was signed by Mulroney and US President Ronald Reagan in January 1988.
But free trade was not yet in force.
Liberal Leader John Turner has signaled that his party will not make it easier for the government to implement what he called the “Sell Canada Act.”
“We're going to fight across the country, we're going to fight in the legislature,” Turner said. “We are going to fight this every step of the way.”
New Democrat leader Ed Broadbent argued there had been no “open and honest debate” on the full details of what free trade would entail.
Margaret Thatcher's take
Even Margaret Thatcher weighed in on the free trade debate when the British Prime Minister visited Canada in June 1988.
In 1988, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Canada and made headlines with her comments on free trade while speaking to MPs in Ottawa.
“There is no need to fear that Canada's national personality will be weakened in any way (in pursuit of a free trade agreement),” Thatcher said.
Her unwelcome comment to parliament caused opposition leaders in the country to criticize the so-called The Iron Lady for meddling in domestic politics.
“She has inserted herself into our national debate on an issue that is likely to dominate the next general election in this country,” Turner said later that 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 interfere in Canadian affairs.”
Turner urged Mulroney to call an election to give Canadians a chance to have their say. When the election was called in early October, Mulroney said free trade would be central to the campaign that would send Canadians to the polls next month.
Free trade and national sovereignty
The Liberals and New Democrats quickly pushed for a televised debate devoted exclusively to the issue. But progressive conservatives disagreed with the idea.
Broadbent suggested that Mulroney understood that “the more Canadians know about the trade deal he negotiated with the United States, the more dissatisfied they become with it.”
In 1988, the Liberals and New Democrats wanted the televised debate to focus solely on the issue of free trade. PCs liked this idea.
The divisive topic was indeed part of the debate between leaders, which included concerns about the impact of the agreement on Canada's national sovereignty.
Turner argued that moving to free trade would limit Canada's ability to break free from U.S. control.
“I happen to think you've sold us out,” Turner told Mulroney during an English-language debate on October 25, 1988.
In response, Mulroney denied the accusations and stated that his liberal opponent “does not have a monopoly on patriotism.”
Don Newman and Wendy Mesley report on the leadership debate with Brian Mulroney, John Turner and Ed Broadbent. Aired October 25, 1988 on CBC's The National.
Mulroney's Tories will return to power – again with an overwhelming majority, but with fewer seats than before.
The 1988 election was the last in which Mulroney, Turner and Broadbent led their parties.
Turner died in September 2020. Both Broadbent AND Mulroney died in 2024. The fierce fight for free trade was part of their legacy as federal leaders.
The original Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement entered into force on the first day of 1989.
Five years later was replaced by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Then in April 2020, NAFTA replaced by CUSMA – Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement – negotiated on Trump's orders during his first term in the White House.
After his re-election in November, Trump announced he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all products imported into the country from Canada and Mexico. Some viewed this threat, as well as subsequent comments regarding the '51. state” as signaling his intention to renegotiate CUSMA.
On New Year's Eve 1988, the CBC reported on a free trade agreement that would come into force the next day.