Over the last two decades, a correlation has emerged between the Government of Canada's policies on immigration, tourism, and trade and Canada's bilateral air transport agreements. This paper will demonstrate how government policy actions on immigration, tourism, and trade can both support and hinder the development of air traffic by conducting a historical review of passenger traffic in relation to key policy changes, highlighting their influence on travel patterns in subsequent years.
This paper will use a statistical analysis of passenger traffic data and a qualitative analysis of government policy changes. The analyses will outline how shifts in government policy are linked to accelerations and decelerations in traffic growth using market case studies. Transitioning to the current context, the paper will explain how a new era of policy restrictiveness in areas such as immigration and trade could change bilateral passenger traffic flows between Canada and foreign markets. Finally, the paper will look to underscore the importance of governments' responsible use of foreign policy and air transport agreements to promote a stable expansion of air services from Canada to the rest of the world.
