Today, Canada’s premiers will arrive in Charlottetown, P.E.I. for their annual summer meeting — not far from where their predecessors gathered to conceive Canada in 1864.
But while the Fathers of Confederation agreed to form a new nation, they didn’t agree to free trade within its borders.
Over time, this omission has spawned a maddening morass of different rules and standards that make it harder for businesses to sell their products in other provinces; for professionals to work where they are needed; or for goods and investment to move smoothly across the land. While the U.S. has 340 million people and one market, Canada has 41 million people and 13 markets — one for each province and territory.
The cost to our economy is steep, estimated by the International Monetary Fund at more than $200 billion a year — the equivalent of a nine per cent tariff we levy on ourselves.
This week, the premiers must focus on fixing their predecessors’ misstep.
Fortunately, the last year has brought more progress than the last decade. The federal government passed the One Canadian Economy Act and the Free Trade and Labour Mobility Act, eliminating redundant regulations and removing federal barriers to the movement of goods, services and labour.
While there’s been progress among the provinces, it has been small
Among the provinces, Ontario led the way in eliminating its exceptions to internal trade. Many provinces passed mutual recognition laws, agreeing to recognize a good, service or credential approved elsewhere. Premiers committed to 30-day service standards to process interprovincial labour applications.
While this progress is real, these steps are still small. Good legislation does not mean smooth implementation. Businesses and workers aren’t seeing the benefits yet, and political momentum has faltered.
For example, 11 provinces and territories agreed to allow direct-to-consumer alcohol sales by May 2026, but only two have done so. Canada desperately needs to build housing faster, but building codes are different. Varying trucking regulations slow down the transport of goods. Since every province and territory has its own securities regulations, investing in Canada is harder than in other countries.
Labour mobility is glacial.
Some provinces require specific certifications that others do not. Navigating bureaucracies to get one’s credentials recognized can be confusing and costly. And while 30-day service standards are a great in principle, who is enforcing them in practice?
As an Ontario Chamber of Commerce report highlighted last week, the areas of greatest impact and opportunity are clear: Housing and construction; food, beverages and goods; and the movement of labour and financial capital. The CEOs of all provincial chambers will be in Charlottetown with much the same message.
That is why the premiers must make this their top priority this week. They should commit to setting measurable targets, reporting publicly on progress, and setting up a credible system to adjudicate and enforce the new rules.
Canada can’t afford to leave this half-done. Our economy has vast potential, but it can only be achieved when people, goods, services, and investment can flow smoothly to opportunities.
Internal free trade would cost provinces nothing
While interprovincial trade can seem abstract, the benefits are real. Having a single Canadian economy would respond to many of Canada’s greatest challenges, and help fulfil many of our greatest ambitions.
It would open new markets for business. It would connect talent to jobs. It would lower costs for both companies and consumers. It would get homes and infrastructure built faster. It would catalyze new investment in Canada.
Internal free trade is unlike any other item on the premiers’ agenda, for two reasons: it is something they can control. And it would cost them almost nothing.
162 years after that first Charlottetown conference, it’s an idea whose time has finally come.
