Explaining the Paradox: Canada’S Position in the Agricultural Trade Negotiations of the Uruguay and Doha Rounds
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CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Waterloo's Institutional Repository Explaining the Paradox: Canada’s Position in the Agricultural Trade Negotiations of the Uruguay and Doha Rounds by Jasmine Bélanger-Gulick A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2013 © Jasmine Bélanger-Gulick 2013 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT The Canadian government has been holding an inconsistent position in the agricultural trade negotiations of both the Uruguay and Doha rounds. It has been advocating for freer agricultural trade while defending its supply management system, a protectionist policy that governs dairy, poultry and eggs in the country. The thesis attempts to answer the question: What domestic factors explain the inconsistent position, advocating for both liberalization and protectionism, that Canada has been advocating in the Uruguay and Doha rounds of negotiations on agriculture since 1985? The thesis starts with the assumption that the Canadian government has had a preference for free trade and market- based economic policies since the 1980s. The question is therefore less about explaining Canada’s dual position, but rather about explaining why Canada continues to defend supply management, a system that appears to be in contradiction with its policy preferences. The explanation resides in two ideas. The first argument is that Canada has continued to defend supply management because of the preponderant influence of the farmers’ organizations of the supply-managed sectors. Among Canadian farmers’ organizations, those from the supply-managed sectors have an unparalleled level of organizational capacities. The farmers from the dairy, poultry and egg industries are represented by the organizations that have the highest budgets and number of employees. They have developed strong coalitions provincially and nationally. Farmers’ organizations from the supply-managed sectors have therefore been able to effectively lobby the Canadian government. iii The second argument is that supply management has continued to be defended because it is foremost in the interest of Ontario and Quebec. Indeed, supply-managed farms are heavily concentrated in the Central provinces. This has led the influential provincial governments of Quebec and Ontario to be strong advocates of supply management, both on the national and on the international scenes. Additionally, electoral reasons have also motivated the support of the system by all major national political parties. Supply-managed farms are present in swing rural ridings. Furthermore, the Bloc Québécois has become an ardent defender of the system and the federal government has also maintained the status quo in order not to heighten Québec nationalism, at a time when Canada was shaken by national disunity. Finally, supply- management farmers’ organizations have been able to influence government effectively because of the corporatist relationships they have developed with the federal and provincial governments, especially in Quebec and Ontario. They have garnered the support of part of the processing industry. Processors are divided on the issue of supply management, but several of the most important Canadian processors are cooperatives that are farmer-owned. Important financial institutions have also supported the system, valuing the stability offered by the supply-managed industries. Supply management has therefore continued to be defended by the federal government in GATT/WTO agricultural trade negotiations because of the organizational capacities of supply- management farmers’ organizations. These capacities are in turn heightened by electoral politics, regional concentration and the structure of the system which has made government and organizations partners. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Je voudrais tout d’abord exprimer mes sincères et chaleureux remerciements à mon superviseur, Dr. Will Coleman. Son support, ses idées et ses commentaires ont été d’une aide inestimable. Ce fut un privilège de pouvoir travailler avec un chercheur si reconnu dans le domaine des politiques agricoles. Je remercie également Dr. Andrew Cooper pour ses commentaires toujours pertinents et ses encouragements. Je voudrais également remercier ma famille : maman, Pierrot, papa, Patricia et Kiki. Merci de votre support et de votre amour. Et un merci additionnel destiné tout particulièrement à maman et papa. Merci de voir le potentiel en moi et surtout, de toujours m’encourager à l’atteindre. I first of all want to sincerely and warmly thank my supervisor, Dr. Will Coleman. His support, ideas and comments have been of an invaluable help. It has been a privilege to be able to work with such a well-known researcher in the field of agricultural policy. I also want to thank Dr. Andrew Cooper for his always pertinent comments and his encouragements. I would also like to thank my family: Mom, Pierrot, Dad, Patricia and Kiki. Thank you for your support and your love. An additional thank you for Mom and Dad: thank you to see the potential in me and most of all, to always encourage me to fulfill it. v À la Ferme du Haut-Vallon, où mon cœur s’emplit de joie À ses moutons, ses érables, ses pommes et tout le reste. To the Haut-Vallon Farm, where my heart fills with joy To its sheep, maple trees, apples and all the rest. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER ONE: CONTEXT .......................................................................................................... 5 Agriculture trade and multilateral trade negotiations ................................................................... 5 Canada’s position ....................................................................................................................... 10 Agricultural trade and protectionism in Canada ......................................................................... 14 Supply management ................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................ 20 Canada’s position in agricultural trade negotiations .................................................................. 21 Agricultural interest groups and their influence on agricultural policy ...................................... 24 Pluralism, neo-corporatism and policy networks ....................................................................... 30 Central Canada dominance ......................................................................................................... 34 Quebec separatism ...................................................................................................................... 35 Domestic versus external sources of foreign policy ................................................................... 38 Interest groups and foreign policy .............................................................................................. 40 Federalism and foreign policy .................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS – THE PREPONDERANT INFLUENCE OF THE FARMERS’ ORGANIZATIONS FROM THE SUPPLY-MANAGED SECTORS .......................................... 52 Organizational capacities ............................................................................................................ 54 Coordination and collaboration .................................................................................................. 58 vii CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS – SUPPLY MANAGEMENT, FOREMOST AN INTEREST OF QUEBEC AND ONTARIO ........................................................................................................... 66 Concentration of supply management in Quebec and Ontario ................................................... 66 Support from the governments of Quebec and Ontario .............................................................. 76 Corporatism in supply management in Quebec and Ontario ...................................................... 78 Support for supply management in the dairy and poultry processing industries ........................ 80 Electoral issues ........................................................................................................................... 87 Nationalism and separatism in Quebec ...................................................................................... 93 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 108 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................