The Economic and Political Significance of National Policy Tariff of McDonalds - Essay Example

The legislation is known as the British North America act. He possessed a genius and creative mind and ensured the expansion of Canada from one corner of the sea to the other. Politics set forth by him dominated Canada for over fifty years. He conceived the idea of a “National Policy” Tariff for the development of Canada into a big nation.

Once he took over the Canadian nation was in the stage of infancy thriving to define its national identity and heritage. There was no agreement about the definition of a “Canadian”.In 1879 MacDonald’s Conservative Government proposed a policy of nation-building based on “National Policy” or national tariff (A National Policy). According to his policy three important steps were essential for the unity and the existence of Canada. These were; High protective tariff on imported goods especially from the USA to boost local trade, production, and economy; the building and completion of the transcontinental railway in Canada from end to end; and Settlement of Western Canada through immigration.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Policy. The policy of National tariff brought many advantages as well as disadvantages for Canada. The advantages can be summed up like the following: The trade was shifted from the North-South axis to the East-West axis which benefited the country as a whole. It provided the Canadians with their own national market as a result of growth in the economy and local business and reduced dependence of Canada on the United States. The policy gave tremendous job and business opportunities to the majority of Canadians.

Canadian and foreign businessmen and manufacturers invested in the local industry which helped in capacity building and infrastructure development in Canada. The policy helped in building a National image, culture, and common cause by uniting all parts of the country through rail networks. The policy asked for lowering tariffs for imports from a country that accepted Canadian goods at lower tariffs, this helped in expanding overseas trade especially with Britain.