The participation of business and non-business interest groups in the Canadian trade policy making process

The thesis presents research on participation of interest groups in the Canadian trade policy making process that has relatively recently been extended to include non-business interest groups who now participate in the process that was previously limited to government officials and business groups representatives. The research examines how both business and non-business groups perceive their participation in this process. To achieve this aim, interviews with two representatives of business groups and two representatives of non-business groups were conducted. The resulting data include information about groups motives for engagement in the Canadian trade policy making process, the perceived effects Canadian institutions have on interest groups’ participation in the process, and whether, and if so how, the extension of the process to include non-business groups has changed the lobbying strategies of business groups. The research results allow the author to test contradictory propositions about interest group’s participation in the process found in literature and to arrive at a more accurate model of groups’ involvement in the Canadian trade policy making process