To the editor,
The U.S. president, despite his ineffective bombastic style, is likely right on one thing. Further integration with the United States would almost certainly make Canadians better off economically. There is the startling statistic that the GDP per capita of Canadian provinces is significantly lower than most of our southern neighbours. Alberta and Saskatchewan being the major exceptions. The case of British Columbia versus Washington State is particularly marked, with B.C. being $57K per capita and Washington $93K. Canada GDP per capita has been declining relative to the U.S. for many years.
Of course, economics is not everything. Small countries are usually happy to pay an economic price for independence from their larger neighbours, and even within Canada, Quebec has been willing to pay an economic price for cultural sovereignty. Nonetheless, B.C. in particular, pays a high price for economic separation from the powerhouse West Coast states of Washington, Oregon and California.
B.C. energy exports have apparently increased nearly 300 per cent between 2015 and 2022. For various reasons, B.C. has been unable to grow and develop significant new firms in the manufacturing and technology space.
The question is, how should Canada respond to the current U.S. administration? Rather than retreating into nationalistic isolation, which will probably worsen our economic situation, perhaps we should be making concrete proposals to the U.S. government for areas where we believe deeper economic integration would make sense. For example, we could further harmonize our economic regulations. We could move towards streamlining processes at the border. We could suggest improved labour mobility rights for Canadians and Americans. The reality is that Canadians and Americans are not that different. Most Canadians speak the same English language and we share a very similar culture.
The last three decades of free trade have been good for Canada. Perhaps it is time to consider further integration. It may not be possible to have productive negotiations with the current U.S. administration, since it is too erratic and unpredictable, but it is likely there will be a more stable administration in the future. Of course, we could alternatively choose to step back from our engagement with our southern neighbours, but we should be aware that there will be a high price to pay for this path.
Sinjin Dixon-Warren, Nanaimo
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