Adam: ‘Canada First’ means free trade between provinces

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the premiers, including Ontario’s Doug Ford (L) and Quebec’s François Legault (R) at the Canadian War Museum on March 21, just before the election. Photo by DAVE CHAN /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle content

Elections are fought to be won and lost, and now that Canadians have elected Mark Carney and the Liberals to lead us through the turbulent waters ahead, our collective responsibility is to rally around him to succeed.

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As disappointed as Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives are for suffering such a crushing defeat when it was all there for the taking, they must live up to their Canada First slogan. The danger Donald Trump poses requires all politicians to put the country first.

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We can ignore Trump’s annexation threats, but the U.S. president can cause significant damage to our economy and quality of life, and we must be united in fighting back. And the fightback must begin at home, first by tearing down the interprovincial trade barriers that, without doubt, are holding back economic progress.

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A 2020 study by Statistics Canada found that the burden internal trade barriers impose is equivalent to a 6.9 per cent tariff cost on goods and services. Free interprovincial trade, reports suggest, can boost the economy by more than $200 billion annually.

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If ever there were a time to unlock the economic windfall of freer trade, the time is now. Provincial and territorial premiers cannot complain about Trump tariffs when they have erected trade barriers against one another that stifle economic growth.

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If ever there were a time to unlock the economic windfall of (internal) freer trade, the time is now.Article content

Yes, we are facing an affordability and housing crisis, and many Canadians can hardly make ends meet. But all that fades in comparison if the bottom falls out of the economy, which is what Trump intends. You can only solve these problems if you have a strong economy. Let’s start boosting that economy by freeing up internal trade.

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Carney said before the campaign that he had a standing agreement with provincial leaders for free trade across the country by Canada Day, and we expect nothing less. Already, the federal government has announced changes to its own policies that would facilitate freer trade, and the provinces and territories must now respond.

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As he has done throughout the tariff crisis, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has led the way with the introduction of legislation to eliminate internal barriers, open up trade and drive economic growth. Regulators would be allowed to recognize goods, services and workers of reciprocating provinces and territories. Ontario has signed agreements with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to remove barriers.

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Ontario is also considering measures to allow health professionals to work more easily in Ontario. “With Donald Trump taking direct aim at Canada’s economy, it can’t be business as usual,” Ford said. “These last few months have made it clear, as premiers, we need to work together to build a more united, more competitive, and more self-reliant Canadian economy that creates jobs and prosperity here at home.”