Neoconservatism In Canada

Working Title: Free Trade and Restructuring: Canada’s Turn to Neoconservatism in the 1980’s

Thesis: Beginning under Prime Minister Trudeau in 1980 and ending with Brian Mulroney in 1993, Canada underwent a massive structural shift in its economy in response to numerous economic and political factors. Put forth in a basket of neoconservative agendas, the reduction of tariffs and the signing of numerous free trade deals would prove to have long lasting ramifications for Canada and continues to prove as a political divisive issue. With recent rhetoric from President Donald Trump, a look back at the beginnings of free trade is warranted, with emphasis placed on its restructuring effects on Canada’s economy and whether or not it has met its policy objectives.

It has been argued that a key issue with NAFTA is the threat it posed to the independence of Canadian institutions and business. By creating a unified North American market, institutions would all be forced to play at the lowest common playing field. The intricate system of Investor State Dispute Settlement is one avenue in which Canadian institutions are affected by these multilateral trade agreements. By focusing on the action by which institutions settle

Clarkson draws on a wide range of sources, but often uses sources critical of the immediate structural changes brought about these policies in the late eighties and early nineties. It is from this that the book gets its distinctive anti-globalist leanings, optimistic for the future but fully aware of the shortcomings of these policies. With focus on the economy, foreign relations, and the federal government's relationship with the provinces, Clarkson’s work is all encompassing and will provide useful contrast to works more supportive of neoconservative