Expert says Canada still hasn’t fully abolished its interprovincial trade barriers.

Internal Free-Trade Overhaul: Ambitious Promises, Gradual Reality

1. Opening Snapshot

Federal and provincial governments are racing to tear down the costly web of interprovincial trade barriers, but experts caution that a Canada completely free of internal red tape remains a distant goal.

2. Campaign Pledge vs. Legislative Milestone

During the spring election, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged “free trade by Canada Day,” vowing to strip away federal rules that complicate commerce across provincial lines. Parliament kept the timetable on paper: Bill C-5 became law on June 26, just days before 1 July. Trade lawyer Ryan Manucha calls that moment “a starter’s pistol, not the finish line.”

3. What Bill C-5 Actually Does

• Reduces selected federal licensing and inspection requirements

• Introduces a “one project, one review” model for major infrastructure

• Leaves many details to future regulations and consultations

A legal brief by McMillan Vantage notes the statute “does not wipe out every internal barrier,” highlighting that the toughest hurdles reside in provincial rulebooks.

4. Provinces Hold the Strongest Hand

Carney’s pledge addressed Ottawa’s own red tape; it cannot directly repeal provincial restrictions on trucking, food safety, or professional credentials. The federal strategy is a quid pro quo: Ottawa trims duplication, and provinces agree to harmonize or scrap their obstacles.

5. Remaining Flashpoints

• Supply-managed dairy quotas stay intact.

• Quebec’s language regulations remain untouched.

• Credit-union expansion rules still vary by province.

• Meat inspection standards may or may not shift, depending on how the Canadian Food Inspection Agency drafts its regulations.

6. No Master List—And No Consensus

Government departments and industry groups admit they do not maintain a definitive inventory of barriers. Even the definition of a “barrier” is disputed: Is a 30-day credential-recognition window in Ontario versus 10 days in Nova Scotia a true impediment to trade?

7. The American Catalyst

Manucha argues it took Donald Trump’s 2018–19 tariff battles to jolt Canada into serious action. One academic estimate pegs the drag from internal barriers at $200 billion a year.

8. Next Steps on the Calendar

Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland meets her provincial counterparts on July 8. Top of her agenda: a patchwork of trucking rules that make a Halifax-to-Vancouver haul harder than it should be.

9. Expert Verdict

“Think dimmer switch, not light switch,” Manucha says. Bill C-5 launches a long process of rewriting how regulators view risk and competition. If eliminating every barrier were easy, he adds, “we would have done it years ago.”