Senior Researcher Russ Kuykendall argues that three metaphors inform policy models of Canada’s international trade and the integration of its economy with the world: “gateways,” “supply chains,” and “trade corridors.” 

The metaphors emanate from at least three separate departments of the federal Government of Canada. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade – specifically, the Ministry of International Trade – are pursuing a “gateways” model, particularly focused on Canada’s trade with the Asia-Pacific rim. For the past approximately two years, the federal Department of Industry has sought to drill down on how especially Canada-U.S. Trade occurs within corporate entities with the concept of “global supply chains.” Particularly in the mid- to late-1990s, the federal Department of Transport focused its policy development efforts on using “trade corridors” as a means of understanding Canada’s infrastructure needs in respect of trade.