Manitoba earns top grade in internal trade: CFIB

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This article was published 23/07/2024 (510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba excels at internal trade compared to its provincial counterparts, a new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business concludes.

However, there’s room to grow, the report’s analysts urge.

The keystone province received an ‘A-‘ from the CFIB in its State of Internal Trade report, released Tuesday. Manitoba was the only province to reach an overall ‘A’ status.

Keyli Loeppky, CFIB director of interprovincial affairs, pointed to Manitoba’s exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, among other items, as reasoning for the high grade.

Manitoba is the sole province allowing direct-to-consumer shipments of Canadian wine, craft spirits and beers, bumping up its CFTA-related score.

The province is part of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, which eases trade with Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

It’s created a timeline for professional certification approvals of workers moving from elsewhere in Canada and it’s among the provinces and territories to lead implementation of items from agreements ratified at the Regulatory Reconciliation and Co-operation Table (a forum for the federal and provincial governments to resolve internal trade barriers).

All of these factors brought Manitoba to the satisfactory grade, Loeppky outlined. “Manitoba is at the top of the pack.”

Still, the CFIB gave Manitoba a zero for internal trade leadership. Eight provinces and territories, including Saskatchewan, received a ’10.’

“When we met with Manitoba, there was nothing really of note,” Loeppky said regarding internal trade leadership. “They weren’t leading a certain working group, they weren’t undertaking a certain initiative leading any regional conversations.”

The CFIB met with Manitoba’s internal trade representative in May, according to the lobbyist.

It’s calling for the elimination of trade barriers within Canada. Smashing such barriers could add $200 billion annually to the nation’s economy, the group estimates.

CFIB staff promoted mutual recognition, where business standards — like health and safety requirements — are recognized across provinces.

Canada should facilitate labour mobility and liberalize interprovincial alcohol trade, the report reads.

More than half of small businesses with operations in multiple provinces and territories said they lose productivity by following different regulations depending on the place, a CFIB survey found.

The findings come as Canada’s productivity lag behind fellow G7 countries, the CFIB highlighted.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com