B.C. close behind Nova Scotia and Ontario for interprovincial trade: CFIB
Posted June 30, 2025 8:05 am.
Last Updated June 30, 2025 8:09 am.
B.C. has earned a passing grade for interprovincial trade, according to a new report card issued by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
The federation says B.C. has moved from a ‘B’ to a ‘B+’ in 2025, citing straightforward legislation to improve trade.
The report grades provinces on measures of cooperation, including the use of exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), barriers to trade, the status of items from reconciliation agreements, and the acceptance of regulations from other jurisdictions.
“British Columbia has shown leadership by passing legislation that doesn’t require a patchwork of agreements to realize free trade,” said Ryan Mitton, CFIB’s director of legislative affairs for B.C.
The federation says B.C. welcomes out-of-province goods and services without demanding a reciprocating agreement or memorandum of understanding.
Mitton says there’s still room to improve, but B.C. should be an example for other provinces to follow.
Ahead of B.C. is Nova Scotia, which the CFIB says earned an ‘A’ grade for introducing and implementing “mutual recognition legislation,” and Ontario with another ‘A’, after the province eliminated “all of its CFTA exemptions.”
Last month, an analysis by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) showed that if B.C. were to adopt similar legislation to those of Nova Scotia, Ontario, and others, or sign mutual recognition agreements with all Canadian provinces, the country’s economy could grow by an estimated $50.2 billion.
MEI finds that if trade barriers were slashed between B.C. and Alberta alone, the economic spin-off would be $25.7 billion.
In February, B.C.’s economic development minister said the NDP government was planning to make “substantive changes” to its interprovincial trade barriers. At the time, Diana Gibson said B.C. was preparing to reduce the barriers so goods and services could move more freely to help “unlock economic development” and support jobs and economic diversity.
She added B.C. will “do whatever is necessary.” However, months later, not much has changed on that front.
In early May, just days after being swept into office, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government would look to get rid of interprovincial trade barriers across the country on July 1.
