Major work completed on dropping interprovincial trade barriers in Canada

Major progress made on dropping interprovincial trade barriers in Canada

Published 10:04 am Friday, August 28, 2026

Canada’s provinces and territories have agreed to take some major steps to reduce barriers to internal trade as the standoff with the United States over tariffs continues.

“At a time when unjustified U.S. tariffs and global trade uncertainty are creating challenges for businesses and workers across Canada, reducing trade barriers within our own country has never been more important,” said Adrian Dix, B.C.’s acting jobs minister, in a Friday statement.

The biggest part of the latest agreement, signed on Thursday (Aug. 27), commits all provinces and territories to ensuring skilled tradespeople from other jurisdictions can have their certifications recognized within 30 days of applying.

The sides also agreed to work toward free trade of services through a mutual recognition agreement.

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers committed to getting these two things done by the end of the year.

They also agreed to accelerate work toward an agreement in principle on creating model mutual-recognition legislation that could be implemented in each jurisdiction to create a common Canadian market.

“This work will help create a more open Canadian market and make it easier for people and businesses to work and operate across provincial and territorial boundaries,” Dix said.