The View from Langley: The cia and Pierre Elliott Trudeau in the Era of “Canada First” Economic Nationalism

Abstract

Postwar Canada-us relations have been punctuated by conflicts of political and economic interest. Declassified us Central Intelligence Agency (cia) documents reveal that Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s nearly sixteen years in power (1968–84) were an especially turbulent chapter in this history. Against the backdrop of the demise of the Bretton Woods system, oil shocks, and stagflation, the cia paid close attention to Canadian policy and regulatory changes that threatened us economic and energy interests. The American intelligence community attributed the Foreign Investment Review Agency, Petro-Canada, oil export controls, and the National Energy Program to the rise of a menacing “Canada First” brand of economic nationalism. From the American vantage point, these bilateral irritants became urgent foreign policy issues in the midst of the neoliberal revolution. Thecia concluded that Trudeau was an obstacle to positive Canada-us relations and briefed policy-makers right up to the president accordingly.