Nova Scotia groups want free Canadian trade as poll shows support in Atlantic region

Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford, right, and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston pose for a photo during at HPG, a manufacturing facility in Milton, on Thursday, February 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

HALIFAX — A number of business sectors in Nova Scotia are welcoming Premier Tim Houston’s national call to reduce interprovincial trade barriers, as a new poll suggests broad public support for the idea across Atlantic Canada.

Houston announced Thursday during an appearance with fellow Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford in Milton, Ont., that a yet to be tabled bill would allow Canadian goods and services to be sold in Nova Scotia without the need for further testing or red tape.

However, the lifting of restrictions would only apply to provinces and territories that pass similar legislation, and Houston called on them to follow Nova Scotia’s lead.

The federal government followed up Friday by announcing that it would remove another 20 federal exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, reducing the number from 39 to 19. Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand said the majority of the exceptions removed relate to government procurement and would provide Canadian businesses with more opportunity to compete across the country.

Ottawa says eliminating barriers to internal trade can potentially add up to $200 billion to the Canadian economy.

Representatives from Nova Scotia’s wine and forestry sectors say they fully support any idea that will make it easier to sell their products in other provinces.

“The (Nova Scotia) wine industry has been pushing for the breaking down of interprovincial trade barriers for at least the last three years,” said Karl Coutinho, co-owner of Avondale Sky Winery and board chair of Wine Growers Nova Scotia.

“We would love not to get our hands slapped when we try to sell a case of wine in P.E.I. or Ontario because legally we are not allowed to do it,” he said.

Doing away with barriers would open up the direct-to-consumer shipping market and allow wineries to have more of a presence across the country, Coutinho said.

Todd Burgess, executive director with Forest Nova Scotia, which represents woodlot owners, sawmills and pulp and paper companies, said his sector is looking to diversify because it currently sells 75 per cent of its products to the United States, where demand is likely to fall if a 25 per cent tariff is slapped on Canadian imports on March 4.

“Interprovincial trade barriers, just like tariffs, are not good for business,” said Burgess, who also cautioned that it will be important to see the details of the Nova Scotia bill.

“Specific things like road weight restrictions and truck configurations between provinces can sometimes be a barrier to trade,” he said. “If we can get a little bit more efficient in how we administer the differences between provinces, I think that would be a good thing.”

However, the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture is more cautious, saying it needs to identify potential opportunities and challenges for farming operations before passing judgment. Executive director Carolyn Van Den Heuvel, said in a statement that farmers in the province produce over 100 products.

“When looking at trade, we know it impacts our various communities in different ways. Nova Scotia is facing a looming trade threat from the United States, which means we must explore all options available to us as an industry.”

Meanwhile, a new poll released by Halifax-based Narrative Research on Friday said 92 per cent of Atlantic Canadians support the removal of trade barriers between provinces, while 75 per cent of those surveyed said they would likely buy Canadian goods given the threat of tariffs from the U.S.

Another 73 per cent said they were willing to pay more for a product made in Canada, while 94 per cent agreed that retailers should make it easier to identify products that are made in this country.

Margaret Chapman, COO and partner at Narrative Research, said the survey indicates that tariffs are “really scary” to people who are reacting by changing their purchasing behaviour.

“They are also looking for governments to make changes to make trade easier between provinces,” said Chapman. “There is incredible unity on this issue that we don’t see on many issues, so it’s interesting to see.”

The online survey, conducted Feb. 10-19, included 1,136 Atlantic Canadian residents. The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2025.