The North American Free Trade Agreement

Why is N.A.F.T.A good for Canada?

The most controversial agreement of the 1990’s, The North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA, was signed in December 17 1992 where President Bush (US), President Salinas (Mexico) and Prime Minister Mulroney (Canada)) sign the agreement in three separate ceremonies in their respective capitals (North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]) . The agreement however was not ratified in the US congress until January 1, 1994. This treaty has been the talk of many Canadians. Most, worried of a massive price surge of ordinary household object, the harmful effect on the environment that the agreement should have brought, and massive resource grab by the Americans. Despite the controversy and the rumors, Canadians as a whole has benefited greatly from The North American Free Trade Agreement. Since the creation of NAFTA it a more capable and competitive Canada, with increased trade leading to an higher GDP many countries, ultimately creating a better standard of living for all Canadians. Also Canadians have benefited greatly from much better relationship with our southern neighbors. Many of the most powerful employers on Canadian soil are from the states, directly influencing our job markets and the working class’s life. The biggest concern of all, Canada’s future, is made very stable because of NAFTA, this includes the all important part of Canada’s future, the environment. These factors combine together to create very stable and extremely well thought out agreement that canadians know, NAFTA. NAFTA has created Canada a better place, with the increase of trade between our nations, Canada has been created into a first class nation to do business in. The reduction or elimination of tariffs between the nations of NAFTA creates a unique opportunity to work and expand the countries economies. “In 1993 before NAFTA came into affect, trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico was 297 billion dollars per year; after NAFTA was ratified the benefits were immediate and continuous and by 2007, trade between the partners had tripled to 903 billion dollars per year. ”(Canadian Benefits of NAFTA) Today, North america trades about US$2.6 billion every day, about US$108 million per hour (Results : North Americans Are Better Off After 15 Years of NAFTA) This really shows how powerful the agreement. Lets put this into perspective, $2.6 billion would be the value that Sean Parker is, the president of facebook inc. This shows how the agreement helps our economy is a verified fact. Another major benefit of NAFTA is the increase of high tech, skilled, high paying jobs for the Canadian economy. Almost all “Canadian” jobs are now controlled by big American companies, such Procter & Gamble, IBM Canada and Pratt & Whitney Canada. These companies employ many Canadians creating jobs and growth. However some high paying jobs are Canadian, such as the jobs offered by Bombardier. Bombardier is one of the many companies that really improved after the signing of this agreement. The company has expanded their operations across the border and expanded to the third largest civilian aircraft manufacturer in the world and the largest third party railway car provider (Bombardier Transport Division: “On the Right Track…”). Bombardier has earned this success through operating plants all over North America. Taking advantage of the tariff free trading system Nafta created, Bombardier created thousands of jobs for Canadians. In fact all across North America, the job market has grown almost 40 million jobs since 1993 (Myths vs. Reality). This shows what a great agreement this really is. More money, more job benefits canada NAFTA has provided businesses all across North America with better access to talent and technologies across North America. This makes our businesses more competitive in North America and around the world. (Results : North Americans Are