Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is all smiles before signing the proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the United States on Jan. 2, 1988. Mulroney, who died this week at 84, is remembered for his ability to foster personal relationships and free trade work. 1988 election campaign centred on free tradeMulroney and Reagan signed the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in January 1988. Blais argued the free trade deals Mulroney helped usher in paved the way to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "I would argue that the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA gutted the manufacturing sector in this country," she said..
