Skip to content

NAFTA

Since its inception, the new North American Free Trade Agreement – the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) – was doomed to be a corporate-first agreement. With U.S. President Donald Trump in the Whitehouse, the old NAFTA as a template, media hysteria around the possible loss of NAFTA, and corporations being granted preferential access to the negotiations, the new agreement was designed to follow the same template as the previous NAFTA and benefit corporations above all else.

Along with labour, citizen’s groups, environmental and faith groups in the three countries, the Council of Canadians successfully campaigned to get rid of some of NAFTA’s most destructive provisions. We were successful in removing certain provisions like Chapter 11 and the energy proportionality clause – harmful provisions that we have fought against for decades. But at the same time, new ones were added that will hurt Canadian farmers and create new corporate-friendly forums that can remove regulations designed to keep us safe and healthy.

With so much at stake, it isn’t just industries that are affected. Our health and our planet are at risk. Trade agreements rule how our globalized planet is run, and there is much to be concerned about. Read more about what’s at stake in CUSMA below and in the Organizing Toolkit.

Cashing in on Trump's tariff threats

Canada’s CEOs want to cash in on Trump’s tariff threats

Corporate lobby groups are turning the trade chaos in their favour by pushing for tax cuts, deregulation, pipelines, and military ...
Ahead of Trump’s tariffs, civil society groups call for a response that puts people first and builds resilience

Ahead of Trump’s tariffs, civil society groups call for a response that puts people first and builds resilience

Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 31 January 2025: Ahead of U.S. President Trump’s threatened imposition of tariffs tomorrow, Climate Action ...
Trump’s tariff threat shows failure of ‘free trade’ promise

Trump’s tariff threat shows failure of ‘free trade’ promise

The Council of Canadians is calling on leaders to disentangle from the U.S. economy. After decades of trade deals that ...
Trade dispute panel decision instructs Mexico to end GM corn restrictions

Trade dispute panel decision instructs Mexico to end GM corn restrictions

Joint Press ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseDecember 23, 2024 Cobourg, Halifax, Ottawa. December 23, 2024 – A trade dispute panel has ruled ...
Canada as 51st state? hard pass

Donald Trump says jump, Canada’s corporate elite ask how high 

Donald J. Trump is not a subtle politician. But he does know how to smell weakness. And right now, Canada’s ...
Maude Barlow: Canada must defend its water supply from Donald Trump

When Trump comes calling for our water, Canada must be ready

Maude Barlow warns against the exploitation of Canada's freshwater resources, highlighting the dangers of commercial water exports and the need ...
Council of canadians on cusma review

Council of canadians on cusma review

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was renegotiated into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in July 2020, the ...
PRESS RELEASE: Canada argues against Mexico’s restrictions on GM corn

PRESS RELEASE: Canada argues against Mexico’s restrictions on GM corn

"Mexico is a sovereign nation with the right to determine the future of its food supply." ...