Converting ambition into action
Letter to The Honourable Premiers of Canada regarding the Council of the Federation meeting.
Dear Premiers,
As you prepare to convene in Huntsville for the Council of the Federation meeting next week, I write to you on behalf of the Business Council of Canada to urge you to act swiftly in eliminating internal trade barriers and investing in critical economic infrastructure.
We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. We have a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to come together and build a united Canadian economy that delivers real, lasting improvements to the lives of every Canadian.
For decades, we’ve been imposing effective tariffs on ourselves that fragment our domestic market, reduce household incomes, and undermine national competitiveness. Respected researchers suggest that eliminating interprovincial trade barriers could boost the Canadian economy by billions of dollars annually while raising household income and creating new revenue streams for governments. While considerable progress has been made to date, we urge you to go further and make mutual recognition central to your efforts to remove trade barriers permanently.
We must seize this moment. Rising international trade tensions and escalating global protectionism have underscored the necessity of strengthening Canadian economic unity. As we highlighted following the First Ministers’ meeting in March, the alignment of provincial, territorial and federal priorities to accelerate regulatory cooperation and invest in infrastructure is essential to preserve Canada’s sovereignty, resilience and growth. Governments must be bold in their efforts to advance the principal of “one project, one review” and work towards arriving at “one decision” for projects.
We need a unified Canada where goods, services, labour and capital flow freely across provincial borders—not just in theory, but in daily practice. To achieve this, we reiterate three core recommendations:
1. Treat regulatory mutual recognition as the central policy principle, to dismantle trade barriers with minimal fiscal cost and maximum clarity.
2. Establish a transparent public repository cataloguing remaining trade restrictions, to focus reform efforts where they matter most.
3. Form a multi-stakeholder steering committee — including provincial officials, private sector leaders, Indigenous representatives and experts — to identify and implement practical solutions.
Parallel to taking down interprovincial trade barriers, Canada must dramatically scale up investment in trade‑enabling infrastructure–from pipelines, ports, rail, and highways to electricity corridors and broadband. The passage last month of the One Canadian Economy Act (Bill C‑5) is a positive step towards completing nation‑building projects. We applaud this direction and call on policymakers to work directly with the private sector to identify projects that can protect Canada’s economic sovereignty and raise living standards for all Canadians.
Premiers, your leadership is essential in converting ambition into action. This is more than policy: it is an opportunity to reimagine Canada as one integrated economy, empowered by innovation and shared prosperity. The changes you make today — in eliminating internal barriers and enabling infrastructure — will improve the lives of every Canadian and define Canada’s place in the world for decades to come.
The Business Council of Canada and our members stand ready to assist you in mapping paths forward. We urge you, at this critical juncture, to act decisively — and together — for the future of all.
Respectfully,
Goldy Hyder
c.c. The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., M.P.
