The Free Trade Papers

Before it was a fact of life, free trade was a much-debated issue in Canadian politics. The Free Trade Papers strips away the rhetoric and shows just what the key players--both American and Canadian--hoped to win and feared to lose under free trade. Duncan Cameron has identified the key documents expressing the views of both the boosters and critics of free trade, including private communications from President Reagan and U.S. trade ambassador Peter Murphy. Statements of dissent and some excellent political journalism are included in this volume, along with important research on the economic basis of free trade. The Free Trade Papers offers a vital, immediate primer of one of the most contentious debates in twentieth-century Canadian history.