Carney will meet Monday with provincial and territorial premiers to accelerate efforts to lower trade barriers between them. Various studies see freer internal trade growing the size of the economy by between 0.5% and 8%, with the government typically touting the higher end of those estimates.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is pushing to offset the economic pain caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs by compelling Canadian provinces to liberalise trade with one another.
Trump’s erratic policy announcements have sent Canadian companies scrambling to find new buyers, as economists see exports declining sharply in the middle of this year. And as the country eyes stronger ties with Europe and Asia, it’s first taking a hard look at its own inefficient trade barriers.
