Committee on Internal Trade discusses bold actions to enhance Canada's internal market

TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, at the Committee on Internal Trade (CIT) meeting, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, and her provincial and territorial counterparts discussed bold, transformative actions to eliminate regulatory barriers to internal trade, encourage free movement of labour and further standardize regulations across Canada.

Trade within Canada is an essential driver of the Canadian economy, creating jobs, helping businesses expand, and enhancing consumer choice. Last year, more than $530 billion worth of goods and services moved across provincial and territorial borders, representing almost 20 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product. Eliminating these barriers will lower prices, increase productivity, and potentially add up to $200 billion to the Canadian economy. These benefits are now more important than ever, as Canada positions our domestic economy in the face of tariff threats from the United States.

Today's meeting builds on the momentum of the 2024 CIT meeting, which saw the launch of a pilot project to mutually recognize regulatory requirements in the trucking sector. Under the trucking pilot, all provinces and territories will recognize each other's regulatory requirements, even where differences exist, to allow trucks and the goods they carry to move across Canada more effectively, without compromising safety and security measures.

Today, discussions focused on further eliminating barriers in our internal market by working together in the following areas:

• Adoption of mutual recognition for goods and services across Canada so that a good or service sold in one jurisdiction can be sold in another, without the need to satisfy additional requirements.
• Improved labour mobility so a registered worker can work in any location across the country without delay.
• Improving the Canadian Free Trade Agreement by reducing exceptions and addressing other sectoral priorities.

These concrete, collaborative actions will reduce barriers to internal trade and labour mobility, strengthening our domestic economy. They will create new market opportunities for Canadian businesses and workers, boost productivity, enhance competitiveness, and attract more foreign investment. This work will also encourage Canadians to buy Canadian products and services.

The recommendations from today's fruitful discussions will be promptly brought forward to the Prime Minister and Premiers to ensure that all federal, provincial and territorial partners continue to work towards a robust domestic economy, which is integrated, accessible and free of barriers.

Quotes

"By working together with our provincial and territorial colleagues to remove internal trade and labour mobility barriers, we can unlock new market opportunities, attract investment and boost economic growth. Team Canada continues to work for the good of our economy, our businesses and all Canadians."
—The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade

Quick Facts

• The Committee on Internal Trade consists of all federal, provincial, and territorial ministers responsible for internal trade, and is responsible for supervising the implementation of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), including providing oversight over a number of CFTA working groups; assisting in the resolution of disputes; approving the annual operating budget of the Internal Trade Secretariat (ITS); and considering any other matter that may affect the operation of the CFTA.

Associated Links

• Internal Trade
• Federal Action Plan to Strengthen Internal Trade
• Canadian Internal Trade Data and Information Hub
• Internal Trade Results for Canadians
• Trucking pilot to improve movement of goods
• Ministers meet to drive progress on internal trade

Stay Connected
https://www.canada.ca/en/intergovernmental-affairs.html

SOURCE Minister of Transport and Internal Trade