Catholic voices can reshape our nation

The hardest-fought federal election of my long life was the so-called free trade election of 1988. The Mulroney Progressive Conservative government signed a free trade agreement with the United States in January of that year. However, a large portion of the Canadian public did not receive that agreement well.

During the election campaign that fall, Liberal leader John Turner and NDP leader Ed Broadbent traversed the country opposing the agreement with all their might. When the Conservatives won a majority government with 39 per cent of the vote in November, that meant clear sailing for the treaty to be enacted on Jan. 1, 1989.

The free trade agreement and its successors have been in effect for 37 years, but no analyst can say whether they have had a net positive effect on the Canadian economy. Trade has greatly increased between Canada and the U.S. However, the only certainty is that more Canadian goods are sold in the United States when the Canadian dollar is low relative to the US dollar, and fewer are sold when our dollar is high.

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Free trade has become part of the woodwork. The old arguments for and against it have been almost forgotten. Still, the collapse of recent trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. on August 21 should recall one of the main objections to the 1988 pact.

Opponents maintained that linking the Canadian and American economies so closely made Canada vulnerable to a crisis like the one we will now endure. American politics are unreliable (as are those of most countries), especially regarding the country’s international commitments. The country has a long history of isolationism, a movement that never sits on the sidelines and sometimes drives the bus.

We have now reached that moment. The Canadian economy is so entwined with the American one that shifts in American politics can have major effects on Canada. We have no input to those changes. We can only react to them.

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Perhaps the Americans’ breach of trust that wounds Canadians can be repaired with a fairer deal than the one that Prime Minister Mark Carney rightly rejected last month. However, we should not forget the lesson we have learned. For Canada to remain a sovereign nation, we should never again become so dependent on one country. It’s time to increase and diversify our trading partners.

Further, Canada should seize the current situation not only to become more independent but also to build an economy and culture that serve as a beacon for nations around the world. It is long past time for Canada to take the lead in combatting climate change, forging a just arrangement with Indigenous peoples, ensuring all Canadians receive a fair share of our nation’s wealth and providing decent housing for all.

To take but one example, Canada is well placed to benefit by selling more water bombers to countries afflicted by the fires resulting from a warming climate. Indeed, it should respond effectively to this emergency. However, in addition to putting out fires, we should also do the hard work of preventing them, above all by sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions. On that matter, our current government has been a laggard, rolling back recent advances and further entrenching a petroleum-based energy system.

The government ought to shake its head and start walking in a different direction.

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Even more, we ought to acknowledge that what the US attempted to do to Canada in the recent trade talks bears strong similarity to what Canada did to First Nations in its treaties and the Indian Act in the latter half of the 19th century. We used our greater technological and political power to impose agreements on First Nations. And once those treaties were signed, Canada failed to live up to its promises. We decimated a way of life, and 150 years later, the peoples we harmed are only beginning to recover.

These are crucial issues. We want a sovereign Canada, but for what purpose? The purpose should be to enhance the common good within our borders and around the world. Catholic social teaching has a lot to say about these concerns. Solidarity and respect for the dignity of each person are among the Church’s key principles. We should strive for something more than a democracy where the majority rules. Canada must also work to build a political culture where the needs and aspirations of minorities are heeded. Catholic voices can contribute much as we reshape our nation.

(Argan is a Catholic Register columnist and former editor of the Western Catholic Reporter. He writes his online column Epiphany.)

A version of this article appeared in the September 06, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Catholic voices can reshape our nation"