To ask why Canada joined the 1988 Free Trade Agreement with the United States of America is to ask a complicated question that will likely get a different answer from each interviewee . The best thing you can do when analyzing the multitude of components that led to this agreement is to eliminate any preconceived notions you may have about liberalized trade and attempt to objectively evaluate the issues this country faced in the years leading up to the agreement . 1988. Free trade between Canada and the United States is probably one of the most controversial issues our country has ever faced. This becomes evident when studying Canadian history throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Canadian economic development has flourished, but has slowed, due to our overwhelming dependence on exports of basic goods to the United States. A long analysis could be made discussing the reasons why our economy has evolved to become so dependent on one nation for its needs. development. However, this analysis is primarily concerned with the direct issues that led Canada to join the FTA on January 1, 1989. To begin, we need to discuss the fiscal uncertainty caused by two economic recessions, the first occurring after the Great Depression, and the subsequent measures adopted by the governing Liberals to combat the problem. Second, a worldwide ideological shift had begun in the 1970s that favored the adoption of neoliberal free market principles that underpinned free trade agreements. Third, the emergence of global regional trading blocs and growing US protectionism have led Canadians to reflect on their economic position in a changing global context. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the 1980s marked the decade in which corporate power manifested itself in... middle of paper... Investing in Canada (Ottawa: Government of Canada, 2012) Last modified 2012 , 04 http://www.international.gc.ca/economist-economiste/statistics-statistiques/data-investments-investissements/data-FDIC/FDIC_US-EU_Sector.aspx?lang=eng&view=dMagdoff, Fred and John Bellamy Foster, What Every Environmentalist Must Know About Capitalism: A Citizen's Guide to Capitalism and the Environment. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2011.McBride, Stephen and John Shields, Dismantling a Nation: Canada and the New World Order. Halifax: Fernwood, 1993.McDougall, John N., Adrift Together: The Political Economy of Canada-US Integration. Peterborough: Broadview Press. 2006.Rugman, Alan M., “Why Business Supports Free Trade” in Free Trade: The Real Story. Giovanni Crispo, ed. Toronto: Gage, 1988. Warnock, John W., Free Trade and the New Agenda of the Right. Vancouver: New Star, 1988.