There’s one upside to Donald Trump’s use of bully-boy tactics against Canada. They may force us to rethink our failed trade strategy with the U.S.Since the first Canada-U. S. free trade deal of 1988, this country has concentrated on integrating itself seamlessly into the American economy.Any attempt to foster an independent manufacturing capability was abandoned. Instead industry was rationalized. Canadian plants no longer existed to serve the Canadian market. Instead, they were part of a continentwide production process that rewarded low costs and low wages.Those that didn’t fit in with the new reality were forced out of business.Things that Canada used to make, from toasters to furniture to canned fruit, were replaced by imports.By the time China began flooding the world with cheap goods, the damage to Canadian manufacturers had already been done.But more than manufacturing was affected. Every Canadian government policy, including those dealing with national security and defence, focused on keeping the border open so that goods and parts could traverse North America effortlessly.Canada sent troops into the losing Afghan War to convince the Americans to keep the border open to trade.Maher Arar’s torture ordeal occurred because a border-obsessed Canadian government ordered its intelligence services to share all security information, no matter how flimsy, with the U.S.Some Canadians were wrongly barred from air travel in large part because Ottawa was unwilling to challenge America’s deeply flawed no-fly list.The assumption behind this drastic restructuring of Canada’s political economy was that America would keep its word — that it would grant special status to Canada (and to Mexico when that country joined what is now called the North American Free Trade Agreement).And with some notable exceptions, such as softwood lumber, America did keep its word.But Trump has changed all of that. His decision to threaten Canada and Me ...
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