Farming alone : Canada's small farmers as key stakeholders in the federal government's agricultural policies

The Canadian agricultural sector has generally profited from trade policies under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the agricultural rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Small and medium sized farms in Canada, however, have not benefited as expected from these agreements. Farmers are an important part of the Canadian economy and Canadian society, but they are facing a financial crisis. Their continued survival in the current era of globalized trade depends, to some degree, on their ability to voice their perspective and to be engaged in policy-making. This thesis explores how farmers perceive the effects of Canada's trade agreements on their businesses and how they have responded based on those perceptions. By providing a better understanding of how farmers perceive Canada's trade agreement to have affected them it also aims to make recommendations to policy makers regarding the importance of including farmers in the policy processs.