Three Amigos talks: Support for NAFTA weak among Canadians ahead of summit, poll says

Three Amigos talks: Support for NAFTA weak among Canadians ahead of summit, poll says

Only 1-in-4 say decades-old trade deal good for country, according to Angus Reid Institute

Thomson Reuters Posted: Jun 27, 2016 7:16 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 27, 2016 12:16 PM ET

A decade after the U.S., Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, the three leaders who signed the deal met in 2002 in Washington to mark its anniversary. From left, former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, former U.S. president George H.W. Bush and former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Only one in four Canadians say the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is good for their country, and more than one-third want it renegotiated, according to polling results released ahead of a North American leaders' Summit on Wednesday.
The survey from the Angus Reid Institute on Monday comes as protectionist sentiment swells in the United States, where voters at both ends of the political spectrum question the economic benefits of NAFTA.
The U.S. Congress is hesitating to ratify a new 12-nation trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which also includes Canada and Mexico.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signs the North American Free Trade Agreement during a signing ceremony in Ottawa, Dec. 17, 1992. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
Trade has long been a focus at the so-called "Three Amigos" summits between NAFTA members, Canada, the United States and Mexico, held this year in Ottawa.
The matter has also become a lightning rod issue in the election campaign to replace U.S. President Barack Obama, who wants Congress to ratify TPP before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
Republican Donald Trump, his party's presumptive nominee for 2016, has attacked the TPP and describes NAFTA as a disaster that needs to be renegotiated or shelved. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has also said she opposes the TPP.

'Grumpy view' on trade

Angus Reid Institute's poll showed also one-quarter of Canadians feel NAFTA hurts the country, while half were either unsure or feel the deal has had no impact either way.
The institute's executive director, Shachi Kurl, said the survey contrasts with past polls on other trade deals, in which Canadians were more likely to support than oppose them.
"Is this simply a gap in policy makers' adequately convincing Canadians that this has been a good deal?" she said. "Is NAFTA an exception in that Canadians see the specific trade deal as a bad deal? These are questions that we have to think on."
Kurl added the poll raises the question of whether Canadians are concerned about the effects of NAFTA in itself or whether their opinion is part of the global "grumpy view" on trade, citing U.S. anti-free-trade sentiments.
Angus Reid said it conducted the online survey with a representative sample of 1,519 Canadian adults who are its members. The survey has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 

U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, left, will attend a Three Amigos summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa this week. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press)



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