The positive economic initiatives by provincial politicians are welcome and helpful but can’t replace the need for action by the federal government. Pictured: Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. Photo Credit: Tim Houston/X.
We are at a critical juncture for Canada. When U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening tariffs and other measures, our federal Liberal government is effectively AWOL, wound up in a navel-gazing exercise to choose a new leader while the clock ticks down on Trump’s deadline. Although matters of international trade are firmly under federal jurisdiction, the vacuum left by the Liberals’ negligence is fortunately being at least partly filled by some of the provincial premiers who are taking the initiative to present solutions to Canada’s current problems.
The last week or so has been quite eventful on the provincial front. On the seemingly intractable issue of inter-provincial trade barriers, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston stepped up to the plate. Barriers to trade within Canada have been one of the most pernicious and enduring self-inflicted wounds. Despite attempts to resolve this problem by many governments of all political stripes over the years, these barriers have persisted as provincial premiers fight against giving up preferences to their own local businesses, unions and others. Economist Trevor Tombe of the University of Calgary estimated in 2022 that inter-provincial barriers cost the Canadian economy as much as $200 billion annually. Eliminating these barriers would strengthen Canada’s east-west trade and make us less vulnerable to threats from outside of Canada such as Trump’s tariffs.
In an attempt to address this issue, Houston announced that he was introducing a bill in the Nova Scotia legislature that states Nova Scotia will eliminate any barriers it imposes on another province as long as the other province follows suit. Although Nova Scotia is a relatively small province, if it can convince some larger jurisdictions to sign on this could be an effective national policy. The fact that Houston made this announcement when he was in Ontario campaigning with fellow Progressive Conservative Doug Ford indicates Ford would be supportive of this effort as well. As other premiers have voiced their support in principle, Trump’s threats may be the catalyst to finally resolve this ridiculous practice in which we only punish ourselves.
Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan also entered the fray with a posting on social media platform X that all pipelines in any direction should be considered pre-approved by the Saskatchewan government. Moe also encouraged other provinces and the federal government to do the same. Moe’s announcement may have been prompted by Trump’s comment the day before that he supported reviving the Keystone XL pipeline project that had been cancelled by former president Joe Biden. Moe spent part of this week in Washington on a trade mission to the US, accompanied by a number of industry representatives from the energy industry. Shortly after Moe’s statement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith jumped on board with the comment that she would agree to do the same in terms of pipeline pre-approval in Alberta.
Even Quebec, traditionally the fly in the ointment to many national projects, seems to be softening its position on things such as pipelines running through the province. Earlier this month, Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s political party Coalition Avenir Quebec and the provincial Liberals voted down a motion by the Quebec Solidaire party calling for opposition to any pipeline project. Legault’s government has also recently stated that the province is open to reconsidering projects such as the Energy East oil pipeline and an LNG (liquid natural gas) project. Some recent public opinion surveys have indicated that support for an East-West pipeline has increased among Quebecers. A recent Angus Reid poll found that 47 per cent of Quebec respondents are now in favour of Energy East, an increase from 33 per cent support in 2019.
An odd and presumably unrelated provincial development also took place this week with the surprise resignation of the Premier of Newfoundland, Andrew Furey. Furey cited one reason for his unexpected departure was the uncertainty created by the prospect of four years of a Trump presidency. Furey is the second Atlantic Premier to step down in recent weeks, as former P.E.I. premier Dennis King resigned the week before.
The positive economic initiatives by provincial politicians are welcome and helpful but can’t replace the need for action by the federal government. The timing of the imposition of Trump tariffs is still up in the air, and some senior White House officials are saying the tariffs may not happen at all if negotiations between the two countries are successful. What is certain is that we have very little time to act. If the federal Liberals can join the premiers and focus on the country’s best interests rather than their own internal party affairs sooner rather than later, Canada might have a chance to avoid the worst of Trump’s threats.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
