Canada must seize the opportunity to eliminate internal trade barriers

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2025 /CNW/ - With potential U.S tariffs to hit next week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is urging all governments ahead of the Committee on Internal Trade meeting to act now to remove internal trade barriers restricting the movement of goods, services and labour across the country.

"It's been very heartening to see so much attention on the urgent need for open trade within Canada. We applaud Premier Tim Houston's plan to introduce legislation to tear down trade barriers with provinces that would do the same and urge all other provinces and territories to follow suit immediately. We have a real opportunity to fix a long-term challenge, but governments need to act now," said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB's senior policy analyst for interprovincial affairs. "Premiers have all of the tools at their disposal. This shouldn't be a drawn-out process. Adopting mutual recognition agreements to allow goods, workers and services to move freely across the country would create true interprovincial trade within Canada and provide a significant boost at a time of so much economic uncertainty."

According to a CFIB survey, nearly 90% of small businesses say removing internal trade barriers should be a priority for governments. Half (50%) said internal trade barriers harm production, the same share said they harm expansion, while about nine in ten (87%) agree that food produced in provincially/territorially licensed or inspected facilities should be able to be sold in all provinces/territories.

"CFIB has been tracking internal trade progress since well before the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) was signed. We have seen some pieces advance over the years, but we have never seen the political will to act like we are seeing it now," said Ryan Mallough, CFIB's vice-president of legislative affairs. "It's ridiculous that it's so often easier and cheaper to export food to neighbouring countries than it is neighbouring provinces or territories. Team Canada needs to focus on competing with the rest of the world rather than amongst ourselves. Governments owe it to Canadians to put their best economic foot forward, adopt mutual recognition agreements and remove internal trade barriers once and for all."

CFIB is calling on governments to immediately adopt mutual recognition policies and agreements to allow goods and services approved in one province to be sold and used in all other provinces without additional requirements. Other recommendations include:

• Eliminating the remaining CFTA exceptions
• Immediately implementing outstanding agreed-to items from the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table work plan
• Working with professional colleges to streamline credential recognition processes to make it easier for skilled workers to move and work anywhere in Canada
• Legislating timelines for professional certification approval of workers certified in other Canadian jurisdictions
• Liberalizing the interprovincial alcohol trade.

Methodology
Final results for the Your Voice – April 2024 survey, conducted from April 4-22, 2024, number of respondents = 2,750. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of at most +/-1.9%, 19 times out of 20.

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Independent Business

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact: Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB, 647-464-2814, [email protected]