On the contrary. it will be accelerated. but it will be diverted from the lands of the United States to the virgin prairie of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. and. to my mind. the greatest asset which Canada will secure by this agreement will be the American farmer. My State is spending thousands of dollars annually to repopulate her abandoned farmsthousands of dollars to make fertile her farmsfor she realizes that every farmer that settles upon one of her farms brings an added wealth and added buying capacity of $1.000 annually. I have been unable to secure definite figures showing to what extent immigration from this country to Canada has taken place in the past. but I think it may be confidently asserted that 400.000 Americans have gone to Canada in the last five years. This immigration can not but be accelerated under the provisions of this agreement which enable the Canadian farmer to raise his product upon the cheap lands of Canada and sell it in competition with the product of the American farmer. in the American market upon an equal basis. In concluding these remarks let me say that from the consideration which I have laid down I can not come to any other conclusion than that the advantages of this agreement inure wholly to the benefit of Canada. that the progress of the industries of this country will be very greatly retarded. that the prosperity and independence of our farmers will be decreased. that there is ail entire and absolute lack of any reciprocal advantage to any of our people or our industries in the agreement. I would be glad. indeed. if we might obtain a wider market either for the production of our farms or our factories.
Keywords matched
immigration