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Broadbent capped his question with a call for a vote of confidence, which the government easily survived by a vote of 157 to 56. The call for such a vote, however, was a reminder to Mulroney that he faces a formidable task in delivering on his campaign promises and turning around the Canadian economy, currently saddled with a $26.5 billion budget deficit. This year's gross national product is expected to increase by 3%, a decrease from last year's growth of 4.7%. Mulroney must also protect the value of the Canadian dollar, which has held its own against other currencies but which fell against the U.S. dollar to 73 cents last week from 77 cents last September. Most important, he must create new jobs to ease a national unemployment rate of more than 11%.
To deal with these problems, Mulroney has made it clear that Canada must improve political and economic relations with its neighbor to the south. He and other members of his government see it as an inescapable fact of Canadian life that while the U.S., which sends the country 20% of its exports, needs Canada, Canada, which ships to the U.S. 76% of its exports, needs the U.S. even more. Canada must have assured access to U.S. markets and U.S. investment capital. "Canada," Mulroney has said, "simply does not have the capital to create the jobs it needs."
Mulroney is aware that improved relations with the U.S. carry political risk. Canadians are ambivalent about U.S. power: they complain that when America is not pushing them around, it is ignoring them. But the Prime Minister has indicated that the risk is one he is willing to take. In economic terms, certainly, improved relations could pay off handsomely for both countries.