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Reciprocity (Canadian politics)
Encyclopedia
Politics of Canada
The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...
, the term reciprocity was used to describe the concept of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
with the United States of America. Reciprocity and free trade have been emotional issues in Canadian history, as they pitted two conflicting impulses, the desire for beneficial economic ties with the United States against the fear that closer economic ties would lead to American domination and annexation.
1880s to 1910s
After Confederation, reciprocity was initially promoted as an alternative to Prime Minister John A. MacdonaldJohn A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
's National Policy
National Policy
The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876 and put into action in 1879. It called for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry...
. Reciprocity meant that there would be no protective tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s on all natural resources being imported and exported between Canada and the United States. This would allow prairie grain farmers access to the larger American market, and allow them to make more money on their exports. In the 1890s, it also meant that Western Canadian farmers could obtain access to cheaper American farm machinery and manufactured goods, which otherwise had to be obtained at higher prices from central Canada.
In the 1891 election
Canadian federal election, 1891
The Canadian federal election of 1891 was held on March 5 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald....
, the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
ran and was defeated over its reciprocity platform. Macdonald won with his nationalist slogan, "The Old Flag, The Old Policy, The Old Leader." The Liberals temporarily shelved the concept. When reciprocity came up again in 1896, it was the Americans who proposed it to Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
's Liberals. The idea excited them, and they immediately began to campaign for it. The Conservatives feared that they would lose the election again due to the valuable agreement, and despite their general belief that it would do Canada good, began to campaign against it.
The Liberal Party went on to win the 1896 election
Canadian federal election, 1896
The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...
, and some years later it negotiated an elaborate reciprocity agreement with the United States in 1911. However in the 1911 election
Canadian federal election, 1911
The Canadian federal election of 1911 was held on September 21 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Canada.-Summary:...
reciprocity again became a major issue, with the Conservatives saying that it would be a "sell out" to the United States. The Liberals were defeated by the Conservative party whose slogan was "No truck or trade with the Yankees".
Free trade in the 1980s
The concept of reciprocity with the United States was revived in the 1985 when the Royal CommissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada headed by former Liberal Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (Canada)
The Minister of Finance is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget...
Donald S. Macdonald issued a report calling for free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
with the US. The Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
government of Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
acted on the recommendation by negotiating the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and successfully fighting the 1988 election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
on the issue.
See also
- Canadian-American Reciprocity TreatyCanadian-American Reciprocity TreatyThe Canadian American Reciprocity Treaty, also known as the Elgin-Marcy Treaty, was a trade treaty between the colonies of British North America and the United States. It covered raw materials and was in effect from 1854 to 1865...
of 1855. - National PolicyNational PolicyThe National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876 and put into action in 1879. It called for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry...
- ContinentalismContinentalismContinentalism refers to the agreements or policies that favor the regionalization and/or cooperation between nations within a continent. The term is used more often in the European and North American contexts, but the concept has been applied to other continents including Australia, Africa and...