Canadian Newsprint, 1913–1930: National Policies and the North American Economy

Abstract

This study uses supply and demand analysis to interpret the expansion of Canadian newsprint production and exports after World War I. Canada and the United States played complementary roles in this expansion, and by 1930, 90 percent of Canadian production based on relatively abundant natural resources went to satisfy U.S. demand. At the same time, U. S. tariffs against Canadian newsprint were relaxed, and Canadian provinces imposed a manufacturing condition on Canadian pulp and paper producers prohibiting the export of pulpwood cut from Crown lands. The analysis shows that the growth of U.S. demand and Canadian supply conditions can account for almost all the Canadian newsprint expansion, whereas policy initiatives generated at most two years of growth.