The now-delayed but still looming threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods has reignited the debate about removing barriers to trade within Canada.
Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre seized on the issue Monday, releasing a seven-minute video claiming “it’s actually easier for our businesses to sell to other countries than to other Canadian provinces” and that eliminating interprovincial trade barriers could boost family incomes by $6,000 a year.
“Let’s knock down these barriers, let’s have a truly free trading, free market Canadian economy that’s capable of standing on its own two feet,” Poilevre told media Monday morning.
Story continues below advertisement
“Let’s do that not to adopt, to appeal, to any foreign leader but to put Canadians back in charge of their lives and their country.”
There are no tariffs on trade between Canadian provinces. But barriers do exist, and fit into three general categories: inconsistent regulations, rules around transportation and provincial protectionism.
The federal government’s own 2024 fall economic statement, citing …