The Politics of the United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Dispute : Analysis of CBC from 1982 to 2002 on Workplace versus Free-trade

Abstract

Between 1982 and 1996 the governments of the United States and Canada went through three periods of trade disputes regarding soft wood lumber before reaching a Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA). While the SLA, which lasted until 2001, temporarily resolved the trade disputes, it left many issues unresolved. This paper analyzes what caused the SLA to expire, why it could not be extended and what kind of role the public television broadcast played. In addition to the existing literature, this paper will review the political developments, including the role of interest groups, in the US-Canada lumber dispute. It is argued that pressures on both sides of the Canadian-United States border lead to the collapse of the SLA. The softwood dispute was initially broadcasted as a problem mainly in the US. The tone changed in 1987 when the issue was linked to Canadian sovereignty and employment in the local communities. It is demonstrated that the media played a role in forming the public discourse by highlighting unemployment issues in the discussion.