Federalism and the governance of international trade negotiations in Canada: Comparing CUSFTA with CETA

Abstract

When the European Union (EU) and the Canadian government announced the launching of negotiations to create a “new generation” free trade agreement, the EU insisted that provincial representatives be included on the Canadian negotiating team. The goal of this article is to explain why the provinces have gradually become key, indeed indispensable, actors in international trade negotiations. I examine how international trade negotiations are conducted in Canada, noting the enhanced role for provincial governments, and I focus on a comparison between the Canada–US free trade negotiations and the discussions for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Europe.

The Evolving Role of Sub-national Actors in International Trade Interactions: A Comparative Analysis of Belgium and Canada

“…39 This was presumably calculated to encourage co-operation between the central government and the provinces on matters of foreign relations. The outlook of these provisions and the interpretation given by the Canadian courts have given the provinces opportunities to express themselves at the international level, especially regarding foreign investment facilitation activities (e.g., promotion and the opening of trade offices in other countries).…”

Charting Quebec’s Engagement with the International Community

“…Two major reasons inform this perspective. First, although the Canadian government is empowered to negotiate international treaties (including in fields of jurisdiction germane to Canadian provinces), it is, under the aforementioned power-sharing arrangements, unable to compel the provinces to implement a given treaty (Skogstad 2012, 204;VanDuzer 2013;Kukucha 2013Kukucha , 2009Paquin 2013;. International treaties, in Canada, must be implemented through a law of incorporation by the federal government, the provinces, and municipalities.…”

“…The most important of these bilateral and multilateral arrangements concern labor force mobility, education, social security, telecommunications, and the environment. Quebec is also an integral participant as part of Canadian delegations in many international negotiations, the most obvious recent case being the free trade negotiations between Canada and the European Union, and global climate change negotiations (Paquin 2013;Chaloux, Paquin, and Séguin 2015).…”

Le fédéralisme d'ouverture et la place du Québec (et des autres provinces) dans les négociations internationales: rupture dans la continuité?

“…Ainsi, le rôle des provinces est de plus en plus important, et ces dernières ont même, de l'avis de négociateurs européens, un rôle déterminant dans le succès de ces négociations (Entrevues à Bruxelles, janvier 2011). Sans engagement clair des plus importantes provinces, les chances de succès de ces accords restent très faibles (Paquin 2013).…”

“…En effet, la participation des provinces canadiennes aux négociations commerciales entre le Canada et l'Union européenne découle d'une exigence de cette dernière qui en a fait une condition pour relancer les négociations (Robitaille 2009). Une telle demande s'explique essentiellement par le fait que la question des marchés publics des provinces et des villes canadiennes représente un intérêt particulier pour l'Union européenne dans cette négociation (Paquin 2013).…”