Alberta is most open to interprovincial trade and Quebec the least, according to an analysis by a Canadian think tank.The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) released its Internal Trade Provincial Leadership Index Thursday morning, placing the western Canadian provinces above all others, including the territories.Krystle Wittevrongel, senior policy analyst at the MEI and author of the study, says Canada should learn to practice free trade within its own borders, let alone internationally.“It shouldn’t be harder to transport goods between Calgary and Montreal than between Calgary and Medicine Hat,” explains Wittevrongel.“Unfortunately, we all pay the price for these barriers by paying more for the goods and services we consume.”The MEI’s index ranks the provinces and territories based on the number of explicit exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. The agreement, signed in 2017, aims to eliminate all barriers to trade between Canadian provinces and territories in the long run.Quebec has 35 exceptions to the agreement, putting it in last place among Canadian provinces. Quebec has not eliminated a single exception since the agreement was made.Alberta is ranked first, with only six exceptions remaining, having eliminated 21 of its exceptions soon after the agreement came into effect in 2017, though the other six have stayed ever since.“The efforts of Alberta to lift itself up from one of the worst to the front of the pack in terms of interprovincial trade, are commendable,” adds Wittevrongel. “Other Canadian provinces should follow its example and walk-the-walk by reducing these trade barriers.”Since the last update of the index in 2021, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Yukon have reduced their number of exceptions to the agreement.The provinces and territories are ranked as follows with their exceptions in parentheses.Alberta (6)Manitoba (7)Saskatchewan (11)British Columbia (13)Nova Scotia (17)Newfoundland and Labrador (18)Northwest Territories (19)Prince Edward Island (20)Ontario (21)Nunavut (21)Yukon (28)New Brunswick (29)Quebec (35)The MEI study also notes numerous barriers to labour mobility still exist between the provinces. “While Alberta has shown the way by reducing its exemptions to the sale of goods and services between provinces, it has some work to do in terms of labour mobility,” explains Wittevrongel. “It’s ridiculous that a nurse trained in Ontario, for example, has to retrain before treating a patient in Alberta.”Manitoba showed the most improvement since 2017, reducing its trade barriers from 16 to 7.Alberta has the most barriers to labour mobility, as measured by the number of professional exceptions to the agreement’s mobility rules. It has nine barriers, followed by Saskatchewan with six. Quebec has only four. Only one exists in Manitoba and BC, and none exist in Nunavut.The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances and advisory services to policy-makers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.
