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At the beginning of this decade, elite opinion held that our priority for trade should be to deepen our relationship with the United States, our most important trading partner. Having ended this decade, it far from clear that this is the best approach for Canada. The U.S. is a waning star. We need to branch out to other countries where growth will be more pronounced as well as to strengthen our bargaining position with an increasingly protectionist partner.

Our past trade strategy focused on the United States, especially after the terrorist attacks that resulted in 3,000 deaths in New York and Washington, D.C. Canadians debated whether we should pursue a “Big Idea,” a term coined by UofT’s Wendy Dobson, such as a common market, a custom union or just some...