Nova Scotia removes trade barriers with Alberta, P.E.I.

Nova Scotia's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Friday, July 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Nova Scotia has announced that trade barriers with Alberta and Prince Edward Island will be removed immediately.

Meanwhile, trade barriers between Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and the federal government are expected to be removed upon proclamation of their equivalent legislation.

“Removing these barriers will open up new opportunities for Nova Scotian businesses and help grow our economy – that means more jobs for Nova Scotians,” said Premier Tim Houston in a Wednesday news release from the province.

“This is how Nova Scotia and Canada can be more economically secure.”

The barriers being removed focus on the following three areas:

• ending Canadian Free Trade Agreement exemptions that limit interprovincial trade with Nova Scotia
• allowing goods or services that are legally sold, used or provided in another province to automatically be able to be sold/used/provided in Nova Scotia without having to meet Nova Scotia’s specific labelling, packaging, certification or inspection requirements
• removing labour mobility barriers by requiring regulators to process equivalent licences within 10 business days and restricting application requirements to evidence of good standing and liability insurance.

Nova Scotia introduced the Free Trade and Mobility within Canada Act in February. The act allows the province to remove barriers to trade and investment with others.

Duncan Robertson with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in Nova Scotia says the news is a good first step in breaking down interprovincial trade barriers.

“Simply put, this is good news for small businesses in our province. Now, eight in 10 small businesses across Canada are looking to their provinces to take the necessary steps to follow Nova Scotia’s lead,” he said in the release.

Trevor Tombe, director of fiscal and economic policy at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, said internal trade is a major driver in the Maritime economy.

“Internal trade costs are much more impactful on productivity here than other places,” he told CTV News Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko. “It’s hard to overstate the gains of internal trade liberalization. In Nova Scotia you could have gains of 2.2 per cent, and that’s the equivalent of $6,000 per Nova Scotia resident per year in additional economic activity.”

The province says interprovincial exports contribute about 17 per cent of Nova Scotia’s gross domestic product.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page