On July 1, 2017, the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) entered into force. With the participation of the federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) Canadian governments, the CFTA sets out a framework for the free movement of persons, goods, services, and investments within Canada, with the aim of working to support an open, efficient, and stable domestic market.
The CFTA's coverage of the Canadian economy is comprehensive, with rules on goods, services, investment and government procurement, as well as labour mobility. Work continues to address remaining gaps, for example the soon-to-be adopted coverage for the recreational cannabis sector and the advanced negotiations towards rules for financial services. Efforts to address some of the other key outstanding internal trade barriers and irritants feature in other forums, for example, the CFTA’s work to explore broader efforts to reduce regulatory barriers and align standards through the CFTA’s Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT). Just this past year, FPT governments celebrated the fifth anniversary of the CFTA and its many accompanying successes to date. An important anniversary like this inspires reflection and pushed us to consider what more is needed and how best we can continue to improve Canada’s internal trading environment.
In this regard, we are seeking your views as part of our collective efforts to drive progress on internal trade. Please consider completing this short, three question survey:
The survey closes at 4 pm CDT on Monday, June 12, 2023.
We may follow-up with you to explore your input in more detail and may share your comments with other teams, departments/ministries or governments, where relevant.
Background
What is Internal Trade?
Internal trade, also known as interprovincial trade, is the movement of goods, services, labour, and investments across provincial and/or territorial borders. This includes:
- Goods: a product is sold for further processing in another province or territory, or a product is sold to a final consumer in another province or territory.
- Services: a service is provided to a client in another province or territory.
- Labour: a qualified worker wants to work or operate in another province or territory.
- Investment: an investor buys a stake in an enterprise or opens a new establishment in another province or territory.
What is meant by a trade barrier or irritant?
An internal trade barrier or irritant restricts or prohibits the movement of goods, services, labour, or investment from one province or territory to another. It includes discriminatory practices that treat companies from non-local jurisdictions differently than local companies. Trade barriers or irritants can take many forms, including federal, provincial or territorial laws or requirements that:
- prohibit or restrict internal trade;
- impose additional permitting, licensing, and other paperwork requirements imposed on businesses that operate in multiple jurisdictions; or
- create compliance costs for businesses because of the need to meet different regulations or standards in different Canadian jurisdictions.
Last Updated: May 12, 2023