The Reciprocity Agreement of 1911 in Canada
The Reciprocity Election of 1911
Laurier wins the majority in 1896 and the liberals are in power. They now modify the national policy (this policy was formed by the Tories to help economic development of all regions of the nation)
Crows Nest Pass Agreement: The CPR received funding from the federal government to develop a railway system in this part of the world, and moreover subsidies the prices of exports and decrease import prices.
Lauriers government seeks more immigrants (This was Clifford Siftons role)
The government also allowed to people to enter Canada and was willing to help them get private land, which would help them.
The Canadians grew many farms and there was a lot of grain production following the new immigration policy.
But the tariffs remained unchanged and the US remained unreceptive. The tariff along the lines of the national policy change.
Liberals appear to prefer trade liberalization; however there arent any nations that wish to increase their trading relations with the Canadians.
The Election of 1911:
Finally in 1910, Laurier and the liberals had someone to talk to, and they believed that they could be in power. Laurier was one of the smartest policy makers under the British Empire. He saw the demand of western farmers wanting free trade.
However, at the same time there was Quebec nationalism that was developing. This mainly took place to the Boar War in South Africa when Canadians were sent under Laurier to fight the war.
Britain especially wanted Canada and Australia to have their independence and governing bodies that would pay for their defense. Laurier was losing popularity due to his foreign policy and the changes in domestic policy. Especially in nationalistic areas like Quebec.
Britain rejected its own policy of preferences: They were losing their competitive edge due to the openness of other markets and countries like France, Germany and America industrializing. Moreover, these markets were getting to be more competitive than Britain due to better coal supplies, fuel and cheaper labor.
Britains elections in 1910 were liberalized because of the victory of the liberal party, and this wasnt going to affect Canada in anyway because they already had access to the British markets. Thus Canada already had some preference within the empire, but it wouldnt gain anything more.
The Democrats had won in the US in 1910, and the Democrats wished to engage in trade with Canada. They have secret negotiations over altering their domestic legislations to lower their own forms of protection.
However Taft (a Republican) was worried