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Proquest Dissertations POLICY, ADVOCACY AND THE PRESS: ECONOMIC NATIONALISM IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO 1968-1974 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Guelph by DAVID BUSSELL In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts September, 2010 © David Bussell, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothdque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'6dition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-71461-4 Our file Notre inference ISBN: 978-0-494-71461-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie priv6e, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont et6 enleves de thesis. cette th£se. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT POLICY, ADVOCACY AND THE PRESS: ECONOMIC NATIONALISM IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO 1968-1974 David Bussell Advisor: University of Guelph, 2010 Professor A. Gordon This thesis is an investigation of economic nationalism as a case study from 1968-1974 and argues that the issue of foreign ownership in Canada was a manifestation of anti-Americanism which was exacerbated by the Vietnam War. Three broad categories of sources - commissions of inquiry, public advocacy and the press helped reveal the connection between anti-Americanism and economic nationalism. All three viewed foreign ownership through different lenses and presented independent conclusions for the best solution to the complex issue of foreign ownership. With increased public support, nationalists tried to pressure Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau into implementing protectionist policies that they deemed essential for the protection of the domestic economy. Nationalists feared that the Americanization of Canada was underway. This insecurity was at the root of Canadian bias against the United States and was the main reason why the judgments of nationalists blurred the economic realities of the times. 1 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my thesis advisors Dr. Alan Gordon and Dr. Mathew Hayday for their support and encouragement throughout this entire process. I am indebted to Dr. Gordon for your constructive feedback and for challenging me to continually improve my work. To all of my students that I have had the pleasure of teaching over the past seven years, apply yourself and you will be rewarded. Thank you to the various administrators at Rick Hansen S.S. who allowed me to pursue my passion in history and enabled me to undertake this academic endeavor. To my wife Michelle, you are my inspiration. Your patience, love and unwavering support have helped me achieve more than I thought was possible. Thank you to my family and close friends for your faith and kind words from the very beginning of this journey. Your interest in my studies was always appreciated, thank you. ii Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgements i List of Abbreviations ii Table of Contents iii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Parliamentary Action and Inaction 26 Chapter 2: The Growth of Public Advocacy 46 Chapter 3: Wahn, Gray, and the Creation of FIRA 58 Chapter 4: Anti-Americanism and the Popular Press 74 Conclusion 103 Bibliography 110 Ill List of Abbreviations CDC, Canadian Development Corporation CIC, Committee for an Independent Canada CALURA, Corporation and Labour Union Returns Act DSP, Defense Sharing Pact FDI, Foreign Direct Investment FIRA, Federal Investment Review Agency FTA, Free Trade Agreement MNE, Multinational Enterprise NDP, New Democratic Party NEP, National Energy Program NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command 1 Introduction In 1967 John Warnock penned an article for Canadian Dimension defending anti-Americanism and his own Canadian nationalism. Warnock stated that he was anti-American because of domestic policies that created financial inequality among the American people and a foreign policy that had escalated the war in Vietnam under the guise of fighting communist aggression. Warnock suggested that the "alternative to being a Canadian nationalist is nothing but the absorption into the empire of the United States."1 This fear that Canada might lose its national independence became the focal point in nationalist opposition to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the United States from 1968-1974. This new form of economic nationalism was different than previous efforts to protect Canadian domestic interests by simply raising tariffs or funding domestic enterprises. This form of new nationalism was closely connected to concerns over protectionism in the cultural sector and resulted in three overlapping responses that converged on the FDI issue. These responses to economic nationalism involved government policy, public advocacy and the popular press. By pulling back in stages from government policy to the public advocacy that supported it, to the media coverage that underwrote it, one can see more clearly that economic nationalism was a particular manifestation of anti-Americanism. This thesis will focus on FDI as a case study of economic nationalism and argue that despite the economic arguments and political rhetoric, opposition to FDI was a direct result of anti-Americanism which was exacerbated by the war in Vietnam. 1 John W. Warnock, "Why I am Anti-American," Canadian Dimension. Nov-Dec 1967, 11. 2 A Survey of Canadian-American Relations - St. Laurent to Trudeau Opposition to American ownership was not a new phenomenon in the Canadian political landscape. John A. Macdonald famously capitalized on Canadian fears of American economic control with his National Policy in 1879. Subsequent governments recognized the need to tread carefully on the issue or risk defeat, as Wilfrid Laurier learned in 1911. However, with the onset of war in 1939, Canadian protectionism was temporarily abandoned as the Canadian government was forced to sign a military alliance with the United States for joint North American security. This permanent alliance signified the "end of significant British power in Canada."2 However, when the war ended, Canadians still harboured an inherent fear amongst economic nationalists that increased American investment would threaten Canadian independence in a new world order. At the conclusion of WWII, Canada was in need of FDI to assist in the reconstruction of the domestic economy. With the swift change to a war economy in the late 1930s and early 1940s, it was believed that a peacetime economy could be reorganized in the same amount of time.3 However, there was concern within the government that a post-war economy might return to the economic devastation of the 1930s. Memory of the Great Depression and the manner with which it ended, cast a long shadow over plans for a post-war economy. The Canadian government wanted to ensure that returning war veterans found work 2 James Laxer, "Introduction to the Political Economy of Canada," The Political Economy of Dependancv. ed., Robert Laxer, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1973), 34. Kenneth Norrie and Douglas Owram, A History of the Canadian Economy, (Toronto: HBJ Canada, 1991), 540. 3 and that a feasible plan was in place to maintain economic prosperity and protect against any kind of collapse. In order to accomplish such goals, key officials in the federal government such as the Minister of Reconstruction and later Trade and Commerce C.D. Howe, believed that Canada could secure long term FDI in natural resources using Canadian workers in factories owned by American companies. This plan would increase investment in Canadian based projects, sustain economic growth and allow for the gradual rise of GNP. In the early 1950s, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurant and his "Minister of Everything" C.D. Howe began a plan of closer economic integration with the United States. In the post-war period the general attitude towards foreign investment was "both welcomed and actively sought as essential to the development of Canada's storehouse of natural resources."4 Although this policy allowed the economy to grow and prosper throughout the late 1940s and into the 1950s, more Canadians were becoming fearful of such dependence on the United States. Economic nationalists like future Minister of Finance Walter Gordon, questioned the wisdom of allowing the United States to control such a large swath of the Canadian domestic economy. Nevertheless, Howe continued with his plan and allowed for the United States to own and control the trans-Canada pipeline in 1956, which transported natural gas from Alberta across to Ontario. He thought that such an arrangement would benefit Canadian interests, but was instead faced with "widespread native resentment at the prospect of Americans controlling the 4 Michael Bliss, "American Investment," Partners Nevertheless: Canadian-American Relations in the Twentieth Century ed.
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