Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, left, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding that seeks to remove trade barriers between the two provinces, at Queen's Park in Toronto, on May 14.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Ontario and Manitoba are the latest provinces to pledge co-operation on removing trade barriers within Canada, promising to reach a deal on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales by next month’s end.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday at Queen’s Park that seeks to boost trade between the two provinces, including through legislation that increases the flow of goods and workers.
The memorandum also says that the provinces will reach a bilateral agreement on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales by June 30, building on a previous pledge by provinces to facilitate alcohol sales across jurisdictions. Manitoba already allows its residents to purchase alcohol directly from producers in other jurisdictions.
“Our two provinces already do approximately $19.5-billion of interprovincial trade every single year, but we can do better as neighbours and partners within Canada,” Mr. Ford said in a news conference.
Federal and provincial leaders are going after regulatory differences and barriers between jurisdictions that stifle the flow of goods and workers, a national effort that was sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to introduce legislation to tackle any barriers imposed at the federal level on internal trade and labour mobility by July 1, joining several provinces who are pursuing similar legislation.
Last month, Ontario signed memorandums of understanding on internal trade with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. However, those agreements did not include specific commitments to reach bilateral deals on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales and instead pledged to work toward a framework.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments agreed in early March to move quickly to take down internal trade barriers, and to soon allow Canadians in most regions to buy alcohol from other jurisdictions.
The federal government and all provinces, with the exception of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, agreed to remove barriers to alcohol sales. Former internal trade minister Anita Anand said at the time that the change would lead to direct-to-consumer sales in some jurisdictions within weeks.
Mr. Ford said on Wednesday that the approach to liberalizing alcohol sales will be based on bilateral agreements for now, rather than a nation-wide deal.
“But wouldn’t it be great if we could go right across the country?” he said.
The Prime Minister and premiers are set to meet in Saskatoon on June 2 with an agenda that’s expected to focus on unifying the Canadian economy.
Mr. Kinew said his hope for the first ministers’ meeting is that everyone will leave “politics aside” so that they can prioritize interprovincial projects.
“I think if we sit around and talk politics, there’s always going to be disagreement. But if we get to work and do the actual job of putting shovels into ground and building some of these trade corridors, putting people to work, that’s how we bring every region of the country together,” he said.
Mr. Carney has promised to make building infrastructure and energy projects key priorities of his government, as U.S. tariffs risk sending the economy into a slowdown.
Mr. Ford said he’s hoping to have a conversation about such projects after Mr. Carney asked premiers to give him a list of their priorities.
The Ontario Premier said he also expects to sign another memorandum of understanding with Saskatchewan when he heads out west for the first ministers’ meeting, adding that he hopes Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will get on board as well.
“We’ll get as many people to sign on as as possible, because this is just going to benefit our country as a whole, and making ourselves stronger economically,” Mr. Ford said.