In 1995, nearly five decades later, we were more successful, as we pushed the effort to turn the GATT into the World Trade Organization (WTO). So Canada’s credentials as a supporter of institutions designed to promote free trade and a sound international financial system are well established.
Of course, much has changed in the global economy during the more than half-century since those institutions were founded. Of profound significance, transportation and communications have become very much cheaper and faster today than they were after World War II. Because of this, the potential economic gains from increased international trade and finance are now much greater than ever before.