Canadians Divided on TPP: How Will the Liberals Respond?

In October of last year Canada joined 11 other Pacific Rim nations in agreeing to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade deal that would cover a wide spectrum of economic policies concerning intellectual property, labour, environmental law and state-investor dispute settlement. While Canada's newly elected Liberal government has confirmed that it will sign the agreement, it still needs to be ratified by a majority vote in Parliament before being officially implemented. With Canadians divided on the proposed agreement,[1] the path to ratification may not be so simple.

International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed as much when she explained that Canada's participation in the signing ceremony of TPP was not a green light for the deal.

“Signing does not equal ratifying,” Freeland said in a statement in January. “Only a majority vote in our Parliament can allow the agreement to take force.”[2]

For their part, the Liberals have walked a fine line with respect to TPP. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strongly supported the agreement on the campaign trail just prior to being elected on October 19, but did state that his government would hold a “full and open public debate” on TPP before adopting it.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership stands to remove trade barriers, widely expand free trade for Canada, and increase opportunities for our middle class and those working hard to join it,” Trudeau said in October.

He added that the “Liberals will take a responsible approach to thoroughly examining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”[3]

There's a good reason the Liberals are playing it safe with respect to TPP. The agreement was reached under the guidance of the Conservative Party after seven years of intensive negotiations. Unfortunately for them, the deal was concluded mere weeks before they were ousted from government in decisive fashion.