Reciprocity (Canadian politics)

A 1911 Conservative campaign poster warns that the big American pig will gobble up the benefits of reciprocity, proposed by the Liberals.

Reciprocity, in 19th- and early 20th-century Canadian politics, meant free trade, the removal of protective tariffs on all natural resources between Canada and the United States. Reciprocity and free trade have been emotional issues in Canadian history, as they pitted two conflicting impulses: the desire for beneficial economic ties with the United States and the fear of closer economic ties leading to American domination and even annexation.