Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy

Muirhead agrees that any government must work to maximize national income and independent choice. He shows that Canada actively pursued a policy of multilateralism and non-discrimination as epitomized by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In addition, the government tried unsuccessfully to resurrect commercial ties with the United Kingdom, its largest pre-war overseas market. Muirhead finds that in both these efforts Canada was thwarted by postwar realities that hindered its exploitation of markets in Britain and Western Europe. The United States remained the only market able and willing to absorb the billions of dollars of Canadian exports on which Canada's prosperity depended.

"an important book that will attract much attention from scholars in Canada, Britain, and the United States ... It is very timely because it provides the historical background to many of the contemporary debates about Canadian economic and trade policy ... The book will be a signifi-cant addition to Canadian political and economic history." John English, Department of History, University of Waterloo. "This book is a serious, scholarly piece of work, well researched, well organized, and well written, which addresses an important topic at an appropriate level and in an appropriate way." Ian M. Drummond, Department of Economics, University of Toronto.