In the late '80s, Canada tore itself apart over the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, the agreement that eventually became NAFTA when Mexico joined later.

When the legislation finally went to the Canadian Senate, the upper house, in a rare display of truculence, delayed the implementation to such a degree that then prime minister Mulroney called an election to settle the issue.

While polls showed a slight majority of Canadians opposed the deal (mainly fearing loss of sovereignty in various areas like water security, cultural industries and natural resources), the Liberals and NDP split the opposition vote, which gave Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives a majority and the mandate to implement the agreement. It was an oddly democratic moment, even though many Canadians were disappointed with the outcome.

Thirty years later, Prime Minister Harper announced another free trade agreement, this one with Europe with the declaration that soon, dear Canadians, you will have access to all the European cheese your gluttonous stomachs desire. There doesn't seem to be the same hand-wringing... yet.