Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Canada’s premiers in Saskatoon on June 2, 2025, with the goal of eliminating interprovincial trade barriers. A year later, the broader goal of free trade within Canada has largely stalled, despite the passage of the One Canadian Economy Act last June, which included a promise for Ottawa to remove federal internal barriers by July 1, 2026.
Businesses still face barriers
For Lauren Skinner Buksevics, managing director of Painted Rock Estate Winery in Penticton, B.C., the momentum from a year ago has faded. Despite all the talk and countless interprovincial Zoom calls, she said it remains easier and cheaper for her winery to sell its signature Bordeaux-style red blend in foreign countries such as Germany than in other Canadian provinces. “Canadians want to be able to buy Canadian products,” said Skinner Buksevics. She worries the country may have missed its window to finally become an economic union. “I really do not want this moment to be missed,” she said.
Limited progress on provincial barriers
Don Drummond, formerly chief economist at TD Bank and before that the Department of Finance, said there has been limited progress in recent months towards the promise of eliminating provincial trade barriers — and limited “heat” on the provincial politicians who seem willing to let the moment pass. Canadians are understandably concerned about free trade barriers with the U.S. and other countries, he said, but are complacent about the absence of an actual economic union within Canada.
Historical context and missed opportunities
The tariffs and sovereignty threats from U.S. President Donald Trump had created national anxiety over the future of the Canadian economy, leading to a wave of support for Canadian producers and sellers. One of Carney’s signature responses was to finally get rid of the costly interprovincial trade barriers that have been hampering the Canadian economy since Confederation. The then recently re-elected Liberal government passed the One Canadian Economy Act last June, which included a promise for Ottawa to remove the federal portion of those internal barriers by July 1, 2026. A year later, while the federal barriers — which were never really the big problem — have largely been removed, the broader goal of free trade within Canada has again largely stalled. Despite national anxiety over international free trade agreements, interprovincial free trade agreements in 1995 and 2017, and a Constitution that states that products from one province shall “be admitted free into each of the other provinces,” Canadian governments continue to reject the benefits of economic union.
Widespread impact across industries
If the winery were allowed to sell barrier-free throughout Canada, Skinner Buksevics said the family-owned 27-acre vineyard could expand sales and help spread the Canadian wine brand. But the wine industry isn’t alone. It’s a similar story in big chunks of the economy, including building materials, agriculture, and a long list of professions. The lack of progress means Canada is leaving money, jobs, and good wine on the table, according to economists.
