Can bolstering provincial trade help thwart Trump's tariffs? Ontario looks at reducing barriers

Doug Ford says pulling down internal trade barriers will be among his first orders of business when Ontario's legislature resumes next month, and experts say the premier should start by addressing rules that make it difficult for workers to move seamlessly between provinces.

Ford told reporters last week that a bill to tackle interprovincial trade walls will be coming soon, but provided few details on his way into a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and the rest of Canada's premiers. He has praised Nova Scotia's recent bill that offers mutual recognition of labour mobility, goods and services with other provinces.

"We're getting rid of all the exemptions when we get back in the legislature," Ford said last week. "That's kind of the first piece of legislation. I know Premier (Tim) Houston has done it, and hopefully all the other premiers are going to follow, because it's going to benefit everyone in Canada."

Removing interprovincial trade barriers has become a topic of increased focus as a possible strategy to mitigate against the losses caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods. The barriers are most often represented as individual standards, rules or educational qualifications required in different provinces that slow or prevent trade. 

Last week, Carney pledged to have "free trade by Canada Day" and said removing barriers to the free movement of workers, goods and services would increase the size of Canada's economy by $250 billion — equivalent to more than $6,000 for every Canadian.

Daniel Tisch, the CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, said that group has been urging the Ford government for years to remove as many barriers as possible. They've been closely watching the premier's comments on the issue and would like his legislation to allow free flow of workers and remove costs from businesses.

"We're certainly expecting to see legislation tabled as a high priority in Ontario that would effectively enable mutual recognition of credentials in other provinces," he said.

"This could be very powerful because we have labour shortages in some areas and there's no reason why a credential that's recognized in Quebec or Alberta or British Columbia or anywhere else, shouldn't be recognized in Ontario."

Ontario needs 26,000 registered nurses and the profession is just one of many bogged down by red tape on certifications between provinces, according to the CEO of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. Doris Grinspun said harmonizing credential recognition and lowering registration fees to help nurses move and work across the country should be part of Ford's legislation.

"Let's solve the issues of human resource challenges that we have, whether it is in the health-care sector or in other industries," she said. 

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said it too is closely watching what Ontario does, hoping that it joins Nova Scotia in offering up mutual recognition of credentials and product standards with other provinces. Meeting individual standards to open up a new provincial market can often be time consuming and can hike costs for businesses, said CFIB's director of provincial affairs for Ontario, Julie Kwiecinski.

"This is something we can control and all provinces should follow suit," she said. "We've been fighting for this for years — mutual recognition. It's the easiest way to go about this, to let people and goods flow freely across Canada's provinces."

Daniel Teeter, who studies interprovincial trade at Queen's University, said he thinks Ford could immediately remove a series of exemptions under the Canada Free Trade Act that require businesses in some industries to be located in the province or use locally-produced materials or components.

"When it comes to these exemptions, there are several that can be easily removed but also have a very low impact on the economy," he said.