State of the Canada-U.S. Relationship: Culture.

The article focuses on cultural relations between the United States and Canada as of March 2003. The bilateral cultural issues of the 1980s and 1990s between Canada and the U.S. centered on trade involving sports, country music, film distribution, book distribution and satellite television. This paper summarizes the growing importance of foreign markets for the Canadian cultural industries and presents a proposal for an international agreement on cultural diversity to address concerns that arise at the interface between domestic cultural policies and international trade and investment obligations. Historically, Canadian cultural policy has been inward looking, espousing ways to protect Canadians from inflows from the U.S. while at the same time being supportive of Canadian cultural producers.