Government of Canada making it easier to trade from province to province

Removing the barriers

Trade within Canada is a key piece of the nation's economy since it positively impacts commerce, creates jobs, facilitates business expansion and gives Canadians more choice in the market. Reducing the number of exceptions in the CFTA will help bolster internal trade and support the capacity of Canada's economy.

The removal of these 17 exceptions has already garnered some positive press — especially from the annual Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s ‘State of Internal Trade: Canada's Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card.’

The report grades federal, provincial and territorial governments' efforts to address interprovincial trade barriers. This year, the Canadian government received a significantly improved rating of "B", the third highest rating of all federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Furthermore, the Government of Canada promises it will continue to build on these successes and collaborate with provinces and territories to accelerate efforts to advance internal trade across the country. The federal government plans to develop a comprehensive Federal Framework on Mutual Recognition so it can bring provinces and territories to the table to cut the proverbial "red tape" and allow goods and services to move freely across the country. This includes moving towards full labour mobility in the construction, health and childcare sectors.

Over $500 billion worth of goods and services moves across provincial and territorial borders every year — equal to almost 19% of Canada's gross domestic product. Last year, one-third of Canadian businesses participated in internal trade by buying or selling goods across provincial and territorial borders.

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Understanding the CFTA

The CFTA came into being on July 1, 2017, with the intent to reduce and eliminate barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services and investments within Canada.

Under that agreement, the government took exceptions in interests such as national security, national economic and social policy, international trade obligations or its responsibility to support regional interests.

Essentially, the exceptions were portions of the agreement that could be taken by federal, provincial or territorial governments, to exclude an industry, sector or legislation.