Is Canada now free of internal trade barriers? Not yet, says expert

Kyle Duggan · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 30, 2025 10:26 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Federal and provincial leaders are moving to dismantle interior commercialized barriers that propulsion up the outgo of goods and marque it harder to bash concern wrong Canada.

But anyone expecting each of them to beryllium gone by time should work the good print, experts say.

Throughout the outpouring national predetermination campaign, Mark Carney arsenic Liberal person repeatedly vowed to "eliminate" interprovincial commercialized barriers and make "free commercialized by Canada Day."

The rhetoric has been astatine times confusing and the governmental scorecard connected this 1 is hard to track.

With July 1 conscionable a time away, Carney's authorities has passed its planned changes into instrumentality — but it's much similar the commencement of a speech than the last word, says interior commercialized adept Ryan Manucha.

"It's a starting weapon and it's starting a batch much enactment and work, which is honestly the truly breathtaking part," said Manucha. "If immoderate of this was easy, it would person been done."

Manucha writes connected the taxable for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think-tank and authored the book Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada's Quest for Interprovincial Trade.

"When I'm advising governments, I say, 'Don't deliberation of this arsenic a airy switch,"' helium said. "We are changing the mode that everyone approaches the conception of regularisation and hazard here, and truthful it's going to instrumentality immoderate time."

The unreserved to interruption down interior barriers to commercialized comes successful effect to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff warfare with Canada. One survey estimates that existing interior commercialized hurdles outgo the system immoderate $200 cardinal a year.

Manucha said Canada has talked astir this occupation for decades but is lone addressing it earnestly present — and it would "never person happened had we not had Trump."

He said the instauration of the Carney government's measure connected interior commercialized was "incredible to see" due to the fact that the thought was conscionable "an world mentation possibly adjacent arsenic small arsenic 8 months ago."

Bill C-5, the omnibus measure that reduces national restrictions connected interprovincial commercialized and besides speeds up permitting for ample infrastructure projects, became instrumentality connected June 26.

An investigation of the instrumentality by McMillan Vantage says that "this authorities would not achieve" the elimination of each interior commercialized barriers.

Provinces clasp power

When Carney made his run promise, helium was talking astir cutting reddish portion enactment up by the national authorities — not the rules acceptable by the provinces, which person the astir authorization successful this area.

The premier curate described this effort arsenic a benignant of quid pro quo with the provinces.

"We're getting escaped of a clump of duplicative national regulations. We're going to person a rule of 1 project, 1 review — and successful exchange, they're going to hold to destruct each the barriers to commercialized and labour mobility," Carney said astatine a rally successful Kitchener, Ont., connected March 26.

"The national authorities committed that we volition expanse distant each of our impediments by Canada Day. Free commercialized by Canada Day."

WATCH | Why are provincial commercialized barriers inactive a thing? 

But Canada's interior commercialized barriers won't each beryllium eliminated by past — not adjacent each the national ones.

Canada's proviso absorption strategy for dairy products, which sets provincial accumulation quotas, volition stay successful place. Quebec besides retains connection requirements that volition enactment successful place.

Credit unions person complained that the caller instrumentality does not interruption down barriers to their enlargement into aggregate provinces.

But conscionable however galore national barriers does the measure eliminate? That's hard to benignant out. A batch of the details volition person to hold until regulations are drafted — a process that volition impact consultations with affected industries.

"I don't truly cognize what this authorities could extremity up doing due to the fact that a batch of veto power, a batch of discretion inactive rests with the regulatory authorities," Manucha said.

"According to the substance of that legislation, it would look similar nutrient inspection would travel off. Is [the Canadian Food Inspection Agency] truly going to let for interprovincial commercialized and inspection of nutrient coming from non-federally licensed abattoirs? I don't know."

Lack of consensus

There is nary broad database of existing interior commercialized barriers. Even immoderate lobby groups person told parliamentarians they don't cognize however galore barriers their ain industries face.

There isn't adjacent statement connected what each counts arsenic a commercialized barrier.

"In the provincial authorities successful Ontario, they're talking, for galore occupations, [of] having a 30-day work modular for however agelong it'll instrumentality for credentials to beryllium recognized," Manucha said. "Nova Scotia, meanwhile, is connected the 10-day turnaround time. That's little than a third. Can you telephone the 30-day versus 10-day a commercialized barrier?"

LISTEN | Bye bye provincial commercialized barriers? 

Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has repeatedly stated that astir of the barriers are astatine the provincial level, testified to the Senate that she volition conscionable with her provincial counterparts connected July 8 to sermon adjacent steps.

One large obstacle is successful Freeland's crosshairs: Canada's patchwork of interprovincial trucking regulations.

"One of 3 areas that I volition beryllium putting connected the docket astatine that gathering is trucking," she said connected June 16. "It should beryllium a batch easier than it is to thrust a motortruck from Halifax to Vancouver. We request to get escaped of conflicting requirements."