From the post-confederation era leading up to the First World War, Britain was Canada’s major economic trading partner. (1) However, after the end of World War One Canada had found another country in place of Britain. During the 1920s and 1930s, the US replaced Britain as Canada’s closest economic partner by having established a wider variety of goods available for trade, as well as various American owned branch plants located across Canada, and finally the number of natural resources Canada had to offer to American investors.
To start off, the first factor which influenced Canada’s decision of having the US as their primary economic partner was based on the exports and goods the US had to offer to Canada through trade. During the 19th century,
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Branch plants were plants or factories built in Canada which belonged to companies that were established in another country, in this case being the US. (8) During the early 1900s, US corporations established bases in Canada and by 1918, they owned 466 branch plants across the country, which increased to 641 over the course of the next 12 years. (9) As time went on, more and more branch plants were being opened in Canada. An important one was newspaper mills, where Canadians held 65% of world exports. (10) By having multiple branch plants located across Canada, Canadians were provided with job opportunities and lowered unemployment rates whereas the US was able to make profit off the products that these branch plants were selling. (11) These branch plants heavily contributed to US investment in industries across Canada and helped grow and stimulate the Canadian economy, which brings me to my third and final …show more content…
As branch plant establishment began to increase, so did the number of industries. By 1930, Americans owned 20% of Canadian industries, with 40% in some sectors such as mining and petroleum. (12) Some industries which the US owned a big chunk of included, auto production (82%), electronic industries (68%), rubber (64%), and machinery (42%). (13) Out of these four industries, auto production had the biggest impact on the economy. It ended up creating over 16000 jobs for Canadians and led to the expansion of other industries such as dealerships, gas stations and repair shops. (14) This rise in the automobile industry led Canada to improve its infrastructure (roads, highways etc.) in order to accommodate American tourists and its own citizens. (15) The sudden increase in tourism brought in a staggering $300+ million to the Canadian economy. (16) This shows how American investment in industries had drastically improved the Canadian economy far greater than Britain had ever