Life in Canada during the 1980s & 1990s With the end of the Trudeau era in Canada, came with it a new political leader and Prime Minister – Brian Mulroney – the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party – won the federal election in 1983 Economy: – He was faced with a daunting task of lowering the federal debt that had escalated during the 1970s and into the 80s Mulroney had to develop an new economic approach, involved cutbacks – This was called neo-conservitism: this involved a reduction of government interference in the economy There was more of a reliance on market forces of supply and demand; he was “pro-business” – Cutbacks were made to family allowance & old age pensions from the wealthy

Canadian economy II Characteristics: End of 1970s, Canadian economy shifted from one based on the production of consumer goods, to one focussed on the Service Industries – Service industries depended on improvements to technology and communication – required a skilled workforce… unfortunately not a lot of workers were needed Due to this, along with other debt reduction strategies, Canada experienced a high level of unemployment by the early 1990s – The gap between the rich and the poor grew; number of Canadians living below the poverty line (spend more than 55% of your income to live) was also increasing

Canadian economy iii International Community: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan were all experiencing tremendous economic growth during Canada’s downfall – Canadian companies were forced to become more efficient on the world scale in order to compete PM Mulroney supported foreign business interests, developed free trade agreements with the United States and then Mexico – The first FTA (Free Trade Agreement) between the United States and Canada was signed in 1989 FTA = trade between countries of certain objects that are free of tariffs or quotas (number of goods being delivered) In 1994, Mexico joined CAN and the USA in signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating trade between the three countries – PROS: more trade = better economy, more USA investment – CONS: Some Canadian companies have moved to USA & Mexico, or sold to US companies

Canadian Economy & Jean Chrétien Despite his efforts, free trade during the era of Brian Mulroney was not truly that successful – due in part to a global recession – In 1993, following Kim Campbell as Prime Minister (June – Dec 1993), a new Liberal Prime Minister came to power, his name Jean Chrétien. His government resolved the practice of running annual deficits – By 1998, Chrétien's government managed to produce a budget surplus Made more money than they spent… Remember the “Trudeau Salute”?, here is the ”Shawinigan handshake”…

Emerged in 1993, but did not make a name for itself until 1997 election. Became official opposition, leader Preston Manning Focussed on Western Alienation; wanted to reform constitution; were pro-Quebec (bilingualism) Result of the 1993 federal election, the Bloc Quebecois came to be Led by Lucien Bouchard, they were the official party of opposition Separatist party in search of Quebec’s sovereignty Regional tensions = New political parties The Bloc QuebecoisThe Reform Party