| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Starting in 1855 the Reciprocity Treaty created limited free trade between the colonies of British North America and the United States. In 1866 the United States Congress voted to cancel the treaty.
The Canadian Liberal party had traditionally supported free trade and in the 1911 electionThe 1911 Canadian election brought to an end fifteen years of government by the Liberal Party under Wilfrid Laurier. The election was fought over the issues of free trade with the United States, and the creation of a Canadian navy. The Conservatives forme free trade in natural products became the central issue. The Conservative partyThe name Conservative Party of Canada has been used twice in Canadian history. For the current party founded 2003 please see the article Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party has been gone under a variety of names over the years. Initially campaigned using fiery anti-American rhetoric and the Liberals lost the election. Further political disputes over free trade were shelved for many decades.
From 1935 to 1980 a number of bilateral trade agreements greatly reduced tariffs in both nations. The most significant of these agreements was the 1960s Auto PactThe Canada-United States Automotive Agreement more commonly known as the Auto Pact was an important trade agreement between Canada and the United States. It was signed by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and President Lyndon B. Johnson in January of 1965.
By the 1980s Canada and the United States were each other's largest trading partners and the Canada-U.S. bilateral trading relationship was the largest in the world.
Brian MulroneyBrian Mulroney Rank 18th First Term September 17, 1984 June 25, 1993 Predecessor John Turner Successor Kim Campbell Date of Birth March 20, 1939 Place of Birth Baie-Comeau, Quebec Spouse Mila Pivnicki Profession businessman Political Party Progressive Con's Progressive Conservative Party was elected to office in 1984. Free trade was not an important issue, but Mulroney and the party both announced their opposition to such a move. As the years went on, however, Mulroney changed his view on the issue. In May 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa Canadian and American negotiators began to work out a trade deal.The agreement greatly liberalized trade between the two countries removing most remaining tariffs. The FTA was not fundamentally about tariffs, however. Average tariffs on goods crossing the border were well below 1% by the 1980s. Instead Canada desired unhindered access to the American economy. Americans in turn wished to compete in Canada's energy and cultural industries.
In the negotiations Canada retained the right to protect its cultural industries and such sectors as education, health care. As well, some resources such as water were left out of the agreement. The Canadians did not succeed in winning free competition for American government procurement contracts, however.