The U.S.-Canada trade war has been a “wake-up call” for Canada to become more economically independent, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
The CFIB is applauding the province’s legislation to eliminate trade and labour barriers within Canada in the face of a wave of U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian-exported goods by the Trump administration.
“We can’t control or predict the Trump administration’s next moves, but we can control what’s within our own borders,” said Julie Kwiecinski, the CFIB’s director of provincial affairs for Ontario, in an April 16 news release.
CFIB said it’s been advocating for the elimination of international trade and labour mobility barriers, and allow for direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol products for a long time.
These actions were included in its 2022 annual report, The State of Internal Trade: Canada’s Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card, where federal, provincial and territorial governments were graded on on their interprovincial cooperation efforts, including removing Canadian Free Trade Agreement exceptions.
“The government’s measures announced (April 16) are about more than just creating opportunities – they’re also about creating a way for provinces to unite economically to stand up to the U.S. and together make Canada a more attractive international trading partner,” added Kwiecinski.
CFIB is a small-and medium-sized business advocacy organization with 100,000 members across Canada, including 39,000 in Ontario.
