Trade barriers coming down will open new markets for P.E.I. businesses, says Compton

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 11, 2025 12:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 11

Efforts to bring down provincial and territorial commercialized barriers volition soon make caller economical opportunities for section businesses, P.E.I.'s curate of economical development, innovation and commercialized said Friday.

Darlene Compton precocious attended a gathering of federal, provincial and territorial ministers successful Quebec City, wherever Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland hosted a afloat time of discussions focused connected interprovincial trade.

One of the cardinal announcements from the talks was an statement allowing direct-to-consumer intoxicant income crossed astir of Canada by May 2026.

Canadians successful Yukon and each provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador volition beryllium capable to bid intoxicant for idiosyncratic depletion straight from producers that run elsewhere successful the country.

Compton said this volition grow opportunities for Island businesses, allowing customers successful different regions to bid straight from Island wineries and breweries online. She added that the state has heard from these businesses that they are funny successful this opportunity.

"It would unfastened a batch of markets for them," she told CBC's Island Morning connected Friday. "We're not conscionable for depletion connected P.E.I., but for each Canadians. So, yes, I deliberation it's a bully thing. It exposes them to caller markets."

Compton said a fig of details inactive request to beryllium finalized — including however taxation volition enactment arsenic good arsenic however to woody with property verification and societal responsibility.

Reducing red tape

The statement was portion of a broader effort to region interprovincial commercialized barriers arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump continues to wage a commercialized warfare connected countries including Canada.

In summation to intoxicant sales, the ministers signed a memorandum of knowing addressing trucking regulations and labour mobility issues.

"We're trying to trim the reddish portion and springiness radical the accidental to enactment and unrecorded wherever they want," Compton said. "The involvement is determination crossed each provinces to marque labour mobility apical of mind."

The national authorities is besides moving with provinces and territories to grow the Mutual Recognition Project successful the trucking assemblage — a aviator aimed astatine aligning regulations to trim costs and amended efficiency.

Compton pointed to the illustration of seasonal value restrictions connected trucks connected P.E.I., designed to lessen harm connected secondary roads during the muddy play erstwhile pavement is much prone to breaking up.

"What we would similar to spot is that those value restrictions adjacent immoderate the value restriction or the value would beryllium for a truck, you know, going crossed immoderate 1 of the provinces," she said.

She acknowledged reducing commercialized barriers could summation competition, but said it besides brings important benefits.

"It's opening P.E.I. up to truthful galore antithetic customers. So, you know, it's truly expanding our lawsuit base."

No timeline yet connected promised bridge, ferry toll cuts

As for run promises Prime Minister Mark Carney made earlier this twelvemonth to trim tolls connected the Confederation Bridge and Northumberland Ferries service, Compton said there's nary update yet.

During the predetermination run successful April, Carney pledged to chopped span tolls by much than fractional and trim ferry fares by astatine slightest 50 per cent. Bridge tolls are present much than $50 per vehicle. The ferry costs astir $90 per car.

Compton said P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz met with Freeland past week and raised the issue.

"I would say, enactment tuned. We're moving precise diligently. And I deliberation having some myself and the premier successful idiosyncratic successful beforehand of Minister Freeland, she was good alert of what we would similar to spot connected P.E.I.," she said.

"We person a caller government, for each intents and purposes, with a caller premier minister... getting elected and having caller ministers enactment successful place, it conscionable takes a portion to get wherever they request to beryllium to marque these decisions.

"I deliberation we volition get there, and I'll support pushing," Compton said.

Concerns implicit Wood Islands Harbour dredging

One taxable that didn't marque it into Compton's meetings with Freeland was the national government's program to dredge Wood Islands Harbour aboriginal this year.

The ferry work connecting eastbound P.E.I. and bluish Nova Scotia experienced aggregate sailing cancellations past period owed to what Northumberland Ferries Ltd. called "unusually debased tides." The institution has besides announced that from July 22 to 28, immoderate sailings volition person reduced conveyance capacity, and others volition beryllium cancelled owed to "tide-constrained loading."

While the planned dredging tin help address these disruptions, it has raised concerns among immoderate Island fishers astir wherever each the accumulated sediment volition go.

The P.E.I. Fishermen's Association worries that dumping sediment astatine oversea could harm lobster sportfishing grounds successful the Northumberland Strait. They are advocating for it to beryllium dumped connected onshore instead.

"It has happened earlier that dredging was deposited successful the strait," Compton said.

"I conjecture the champion worst-case script would beryllium to marque definite that it was dumped wherever we bash not person lobster. So that's thing [where the Department of] Environment volition enactment with their [federal] counterparts to marque definite that it's the best-case script for them."