Evening star., 1952-08-17
NADIA Is Booming, But It's Only the Beginning

the United States was about $4,000.
New opportunities are attracting new
Canadians and keeping natives at
home. One result was that the
country's population topped the Ia
million mark early this year. and
achievement of the governments
goal of 80 million people by the end
OF the century seems likely.
Heovy Defense Budget
Canada's success story is being
written partly despite and partly be-
cause of concurrent international
tension, participation in the Korean
war. substantial foreign-aid pro-
gram. and SIS billion three-year re-
armament program. With half its
national revenues devoted to defense
this year, Canada is second only to
the United States among the free
nations in per capita defense ex-
penditure.
So far, Finance Minister Douglas
Abbott has kept Canada on a pay-as-
we-go basis and, by his fiscal policies
of moderately heavy taxation and
tighter credit. seems to have brought
imitation under control. Canada had
a 1856 million surplus for the fiscal
year which ended March 81. 1t was
the sixth consecutive surplus Mr..
Abbott had reported. With previous
ones, it reduced the national debt by
almost exactly the amount that the
debt increased in the first three and
one-half years of the war.
Now Mr.. Abbott seems on the way
to another big surplus. At the begin
ming of the fiscal year, April /, he
budgeted for mere token surplus Of
SO million. Yet the governments
excess of revenue over expenditures
in the first two months alone was
$241 million.
One Big Cloud
Roseate though Canada's future
appears. there is one big cloud in the
economic sky. 1t is uncertainty over
exports. Canada is far more depend
ent on foreign sales than is the United
States, for one dollar out of every
three which Canadians receive is
earned in the export market.
Before the war Canada normally
had trading surplus with the ster-
ling area and trading deficit with
the United States. Then Canada
used her surplus sterling to pay her
dollar debt. But now sterling is no
longer convertible into dollars. This
makes Canada's main economic
problem one of increasing exports
to the United States while earning
enough dollars elsewhere to make
up the remaining trade deficit with
the United States.
Without direct economic aid from
the United States, Canada pulled
itself out of the serious dollar diff
culties which in 1947 forced the
government to ban or restrict the
import of a wide range of American
goods to conserve Canada's gold and
United States dollar reserves. The
last of these restrictions was removed
last year.
A DeIicote BoIonce
Yet so delicately balanced is Can.
ada's trade position that anything
which reduces the country's earnings
Of United States dollars is of major
consequence. The current United
States embargo on imports of Cana
dian meat because of foot and mouth
disease in Saskatchewan Is an ex-
ample. Last year Canada's meat ex-
ports to the States were valued at
more than $100 millions.
This delicate balance is a reason
for the vigor of Canadian protests
against the Congress limitation of
: imports of Canadian cheese. It is
no exaggeration to say that this
American trend, counter to the prin-
ciples of the general agreement on
tariffs and trade. has caused real
uneasiness in Ottawa.
In view Of the uncertainties facing
the $5-billion-a-year trade between
Canada and the United States-the
greatest between any two countries
in history-and with mounting food
surpluses, Canada would like to sell
more to the sterling area. But the
sterling bloc's dollar shortage still
appears an unsurmountable obstacle.
Despite these trade difficulties
which, while serious enough. are mild
compared with those of many other
countries-Canada stands on the
threshold of an era of great industrial
growth. unburdened by excessive debt
or taxation, and facing the future
with optimism. courage and imagi-
nation.
Most Canadians wouldn't have said
it themselves. for they are an un-
assuming people. But they find no
cause to disagree with Winston
Churchill's assessment that. upon
the whole surface Of the globe, there
Is no more spacious and splendid
domain than Canada open to the &C.
tivity and genius Of free men,.