In contrast, Canada saw no rise in trade penetration in the immediate aftermath of CUSFTA in 1988 (indeed, trade penetration was in a downtrend) but then saw a rapid rise in trade penetration from 1991–2000.
NAFTA may have contributed to this rise after 1994, but the fact that much of the 1990s increase in trade penetration was unwound during the following decade suggests that other forces may have been at work. One contributing factor was the global telecom boom and subsequent bust, in which certain Canadian companies were active participants.