The free trade Canadian capitalists weren’t disrupted by social justice activists. Instead, it was the US Commerce Secretary questioning their preferred economic model. But we should be proposing a more fundamental break from billionaire producing, ecologically damaging, capitalism.
On Wednesday US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a BMO organized summit: “free trade not coming back.” Blared on the front of the next day’s Globe and Mail, Lutnick told the Toronto crowd the US wasn’t interested in Canadian made cars and that the US was prioritizing its economic interests, not those of Canadian capital.
The capitalists in attendance weren’t happy to hear Lutnick’s rejection of a basic tenant of neoliberal capitalism. Despite the unreliability of Donald Trump, Canadian officials continue to spend significant energy seeking to negotiate a new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Hopefully, Lutnick’s aggressive language will be a further wakeup call on the futility of negotiating with Trump.
My NDP leadership campaign’s just released platform calls for “a review of CUSMA to consider a process of withdrawing.” Drawn up in an open and democratic way by 45 activists and researchers, NDP 2026 further notes, “No new trade accords with the untrustworthy Trump regime.”
By giving corporations greater ability to shift production to low wage jurisdictions, ‘free trade’ has undercut environmental protections and weakened labour. That’s one reason why Canada’s private sector unionization rate has dropped to its lowest level in 80 years. It’s also one reason why capitalists are garnering an ever-greater share of the fruits of social labour.
‘Free trade’ accords have always been largely about shifting wealth upwards. Included provisions give foreign capitalists special power to sue local governments and strengthen intellectual property rights. In “Power, Control, Inequality, and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century” Jayati Ghosh notes, “in barely three decades, the acceptance of such property rights—literally created out of thin air—has solidified to the point where it seems almost like a fact of nature.” In his recent Monthly Review article, Ghosh further explains, “Big Pharma and Big Data, both of which rely especially heavily on private appropriation of and control over knowledge, are among the companies showing the greatest rates of ‘excess profits’” due to strengthened intellectual property provisions. In plain language, monopolies.
Questioning ‘free trade’ among the elites offers an opportunity to offer an alternative to our current wealth concentrating, ecocidal, economic system. After 30 years of those policies, Canadian capitalists are floundering. We have an opportunity today to offer a genuine alternative.
My campaign’s platform calls on the government to “Initiate formal review into joining BRICS+” and says, “a socialist Canada will build fair trade”. But “Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed – Onwards to a Socialist Future” challenges the undemocratic notions of our economic system. It argues, “contrary to what the ruling class says, we know we donʼt have a free market economy. The economy is directed by a small group of billionaire elites who prioritize private profit over public good. A socialist Canada requires democratic ownership and control of the economyʼs commanding heights for planned and sustainable development. Essential sectors must serve the public good, not private profit. Our core promises are to fight unambiguously for our interests against the billionaire class, ensuring public ownership of all corporate industries, including production, transportation, communication, and finance. This ensures self-sufficiency, high quality unionized jobs and national prosperity.”
To assist, donate or learn more about my bid to lead the NDP check out yvesforndpleader.ca
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