June 30, 2004

Canada election a win for trade, border security

The following article is excerpted from “The Journal of Commerce” edition of 29 June 2004.

The Canadian government is expected to continue to pursue close cooperation on trade and security with the United States, its largest trading partner, after Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal party salvaged a minority victory in the national election Monday.

… Liberals won 135 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons, likely enabling Martin to govern with issue-by-issue support from a slightly strengthened social democratic party and,
ironically, a much stronger Bloc Quebecois, the separatist party that supports Quebec's secession from Canada. …

Martin is also expected to benefit with ad hoc support from the New Democratic Party, the social democratic party which went from 14 to 19 seats, and from the Bloc Quebecois, which
rocketed from 33 seats to 54 in the 75-seat province. The BQ took its additional seats from the Liberals and denied them a majority win. The NDP leader, Jack Layton, says he will
cooperate with the Liberals, especially on issues where the two parties are close, including maintaining a string of budget surpluses.

Martin, who made his fortune in shipping, came into power as Prime Minister last December. He immediately moved toward closer cooperation with Washington on border and security
issues, setting up a national department that merged customs, some aspects of  immigration, and various police and security agencies, similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. His Deputy Prime Minister, Anne McLellan, who leads that department, won her seat in Edmonton. Atlantic Canada Conservative-turned-Liberal, Scott Brison, whom Martin named
as Parliamentary Secretary to oversee U.S. relations, also won reelection, as did International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and Transport Minister Tony Valeri, both of whom
have backed increased, secure border trade.

Canadian traders are especially concerned that the government follow through on announced plans to modernize border crossings. They also are closely following efforts to further harmonize customs and trading rules with the United States, as well as plans to improve security and competitiveness of Canadian ports with their U.S. counterparts.