One Canada One National Economy

Our Conservative Government has aggressively pursued an ambitious free-trade agenda to grow our
economy and improve the quality of life for Canadians. However, progress on domestic trade has not
always kept pace. Barriers to interprovincial and interterritorial trade are impacting our ability to take
advantage of the benefits of our economy.

Today, we have agreements in place with 43 countries giving Canadian businesses preferential access to
over 1.1 billion consumers worldwide. Canada is entering into new trade agreements around the world
that seek to eliminate irritants and barriers to international trade. Trade has become a major growth
catalyst and international success today is driven with the inclusion of integrated supply chains.
Therefore, it is essential that inconsistencies with interprovincial and interterritorial trade are corrected.
Present barriers to internal trade including regulatory differences and restrictions on the movement of
goods and services, put Canadian firms at a disadvantage. Conflicting and inconsistent rules and
regulations across jurisdictions raise costs for businesses, hinder mobility for workers, and limit the
choices for consumers.
That is why we have redesigned Canada’s Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). We are taking action with
this new Agreement by braking down these barriers and building a modern economy. With a new AIT
we will meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive global environment by streamlining economic
regulation and reducing business cost. Canada needs a harmonized approach for labour, goods and
services as well as investments to keep pace with these global economic realities.
The result of redesigning the structure of internal trade here in Canada would be clear and
comprehensive. A new framework would form a strong basis from which to move forward, representing
an approach we can pursue to achieve meaningful outcomes. Our Government is committed to working
with the provinces and territories to create an agreement and begin the essential work of renewing
internal trade to the benefit of all Canadians. StarBuzzOnline