federal canadian elections were certainly an important consideration in the initial talks in the 80s and 90s.

i think wilbur ross is just old. this is something that happens when you get older; you start getting timelines crossed in your mind. you speak to your spouse as they were forty years ago. you think your children are still children. and, you hold to a canadian political discourse that the conventional wisdom claims is out-of-date.

but, you might accidentally provide some insight, in the process.

the liberal party's position on nafta has always been complicated, and the media has never understood it, but it has never been in lockstep with the conservative party. yes - the left should prepare to be disappointed. but, there's also an opportunity for ideological renewal in the party (that is, an opportunity to move away from neo-liberalism), and there is some sign that this is happening - along with some evidence that it is being cemented as the party's dominant position. the liberals in canada have always been strange animals, in that they will surprise you from time to time but also in that they are fundamentally unstable. but, however the cards fall on this, everybody should expect the current iteration of the federal liberal party to sign something - and all existing provincial liberal governments to demonstrate little opposition.

where the spectrum in canada gets a little more interesting is when you look at the parties to the left of the liberals, which are essential in the spectrum but which the media tends to pretend don't exist.

the pq are dying in quebec, but an anti-nafta tirade is the kind of thing that could bring them back to life, if it's tied to some concept of declining sovereignty. and, how quebec obeys the separation of powers in the constitution is not always defined by the constitution, which they've actually refused to sign.

the ruling liberals in ontario are almost certainly going to lose, which is providing the ndp with an opportunity they haven't had in decades. a deal that threatens certain resources, like water, could give them a lot of ammunition, if the race collapses to conservative v. ndp. certainly, one would expect the conservatives to take unpopular positions, should trudeau offer those unpopular positions to them.

but, if mr, ross' accidental insight is to be acknowledged, what he should be suggesting is that he's better off waiting until after the election - that is, if his mind holds out that long.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/wilbur-ross-record-breaking-nafta-speed-1.4280761