Now exactly why is Canada doing well?
At least compared with the US
Our financial industry is more tightly regulated, our environmental laws are generally similar, personal income taxes are higher in Canada, our social spending on average is higher then that of the US. Our manufacturing industry is declining (it is moving to Asia, the US or Mexico.
Canada is doing well right now for three main reasons, our financial industry did not put out nearly as many bad loans as the US (tighter regulation) so even though we have had a similar increase in housing prices, we have not had the bust (as of yet). The second reason is commodity prices, oil, metals, agriculture all have had prices remain relatively high despite the slowdown in the US ( we can thank China and India for that primarily). Last but not least, the total US collapse that could have occurred, along with the total collapse in consumer spending in the US did not occur (government stimulus to the rescue)
Free trade is not the savings grace of Canadian jobs, the commodity sector is. Free trade has done little for Canada, and will do little for Canada in the future. Selling iron ore to India, does not require a free trade agreement, and with a free trade agreement we are not going to be selling rolled steel to India or South Korea ( Canadian mills can not compete with the cost of Indian mills, or the quality of South Korean ones )