Canada’s economy “Stifled by Red Tape,” Business Council warns in new report

Canada’s competitiveness and future prosperity are being strangled by an outdated, duplicative and overly complex regulatory system, according to a new report released today by the Business Council of Canada (BCC).

The report, Stifled by red tape, reveals that Canada’s regulatory burden is among the heaviest in the world, driving away investment, slowing major projects, and making life more expensive for Canadians.

“Canadian businesses want clear, fair rules. They cannot afford a system so complex, slow, and duplicative that it chokes growth, innovation, and job creation,” said Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada. “At a time when our economy is under pressure, cutting red tape is the fastest, cheapest way to spur investment and restore confidence.”

The report notes:

· Canada’s regulatory burden has grown 37 per cent since 2006, with more than 321,000 separate requirements now in force.

· Regulatory “pancaking” – the piling up of overlapping rules from multiple jurisdictions – costs Canada 1.7 per cent of GDP, 1.3 per cent of jobs, and 9 per cent of business investment, according to Statistics Canada.

· It takes nearly 20 years on average to approve a mine in Canada, one of the longest timelines in the world.

· Businesses across every sector, from natural resources to housing to finance, rank regulation as the single biggest barrier to new investment in Canada.

The report highlights ten of the most burdensome areas, including project permitting, financial services compliance, packaging and labelling, foreign worker permits, housing construction delays, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting requirements.

The Council is calling on federal and provincial governments to:

1. Establish a non-partisan deregulation office with the mandate to cut counterproductive rules.

2. Accelerate timelines for approvals of critical projects in natural resources, infrastructure and housing.

3. Harmonize and streamline overlapping provincial and federal requirements.

4. Ensure future regulation is outcomes-based, not process-driven.

“Canada doesn’t need a bonfire of regulations,” Hyder added. “We need smarter rules, applied with speed and clarity. That’s how we will build the housing, infrastructure, and industries of the future while protecting the public interest.”

The report warns that unless governments act with urgency, Canada risks falling further behind global peers in attracting investment, creating jobs, and building the foundations for long-term prosperity.

On July 9, the Carney government launched a Red Tape Review. Departments and agencies with regulatory responsibilities across federal departments were given 60 days— today, September 5th 2025—to report back to Treasury Board on actions to cut outdated, duplicative, or burdensome regulations