Ontario, Saskatchewan sign deal to reduce trade barriers, improve labour flow

Muriel Draaisma · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 6:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Amid economical uncertainty successful Canada owed successful portion to U.S. tariffs, the governments of Ontario and Saskatchewan person reached an statement with the purpose of taking steps to trim commercialized barriers betwixt the 2 provinces.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed a memorandum of knowing (MOU) successful Saskatoon connected Sunday up of a archetypal ministers' gathering there.

Ontario has already signed MOUs with Prince Edward island, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The MOU with P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz was signed earlier connected Sunday.

Ford said the state is "standing up for escaped trade" wrong Canada by signing specified agreements, adding that they're an effort to offset the interaction of U.S. tariffs connected the Canadian economy.

"Our authorities is connected a ngo to support Ontario and to support Canada," helium told reporters successful Saskatoon.

"At a clip erstwhile President [Donald] Trump is taking nonstop purpose astatine our system — and marque nary mistake astir it, helium wants to annihilate our economy, nary substance if it's manufacturing successful Ontario or immoderate different jurisdiction that helium tin get his hands on, bring it down to the U.S. — and we're going to combat similar we've ne'er fought before, not conscionable to support Ontario but to support the remainder of our our country."

Ford said the statement aims to not lone summation the modular of surviving successful Ontario and Saskatchewan but to improve capitalist assurance and let for the escaped question of their "best and astir in-demand" workers.

"We're doing this by reducing barriers to interior trade.... We request to physique a much competitive, much resilient, much self-reliant Canadian economy."

Saskatchewan's Moe said the MOU is "yet 1 much mode that we are able to basal beardown for our provinces, and collectively arsenic provinces, basal beardown for our state and each the radical who telephone Canada home." He said both helium and Ford person agelong been advocates of streamlining commercialized crossed the country.

"It shouldn't beryllium easier to commercialized with different countries than it is to trade between the Canadian provinces of our nation," Moe told reporters.

"It's much important now, I would say, than ever for us to prioritize removing any and each barriers that we person that limit flow of commercialized and bounds travel of professionals from moving crossed Canada," he added.

"It's precise greatly appreciated to person different like-minded state articulation america connected that beforehand and to proceed to enactment words into action."

WATCH | Ontario and Manitoba motion woody to interruption down commercialized barriers:

Memo to fortify respective economies, Moe says

Moe said the MOU contains communal designation and reciprocity — successful particular, communal designation of goods, workers and investment. The agreement will only fortify their respective economies, payment workers and businesses and heighten the Canadian economy, helium said.

According to the latest MOU, Ontario and Saskatchewan pledge to physique connected "enabling legislation" to region interior commercialized barriers to boost the travel of goods, services, concern and workers, portion maintaining and strengthening the levels of nationalist information and respecting the relation of Crown corporations wrong immoderate provincial industries.

Both provinces agreed to enactment connected improving interprovincial labour mobility, saying they volition purpose to guarantee any good, work oregon idiosyncratic deemed acceptable successful 1 state is besides deemed acceptable successful the other.

As well, some agreed to enactment on a model to instrumentality a direct-to-consumer income system of alcohol, "so that producers person easier entree to marketplace opportunities crossed the country, and truthful that consumers crossed Canada person greater prime and entree to a broader enactment of alcoholic beverages."