The Three Amigos Summit
Canada, November 19, 2021 – While the leaders of Canada and Mexico talked up the importance of free trade at their summit this week, Canadians themselves are at best more skeptical – and at worst more cynical – than politicians about the benefits of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to this country’s economic fortunes.
The latest data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds negative feelings towards the three-country free trade agreement continue from when the USMCA was first signed in 2018.
In the three years since the NAFTA replacement was signed, Canadians have not grown fonder of the USMCA. At the time, Canadians were more disappointed than pleased with the agreement and half said that the new deal was worse than the one it replaced.
Asked how they feel the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) replacement is affecting their country’s economy, Canadians are critical by a two-to-one margin (37% to 18%), while many admit they’re unsure.
The same story emerges when Canadians are asked to assess the impact of the agreement on their own respective provinces: one-in-three say the deal is hurting their province, while 13 per cent feel it is beneficial. These sentiments are most pronounced in Atlantic Canada and Alberta, where those who believe that USMCA has hurt their provinces’ economy outnumber those who believe it has been a benefit by six-to-one and three-to-one, respectively.
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