The mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau are lobbying their provinces to remove interprovincial trade barriers to strengthen the local economy amid the threat of a Canada-U.S. tariff war.
“Our region is unique in that it consists of two cities in two different provinces, yet functions as a single metropolitan area,” reads the statement from Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette.
“In light of the emerging tariff threat, we believe this moment presents an opportunity to better leverage the economic potential of our region.”
The mayors of Canada’s biggest cities met in Ottawa Thursday, where Marquis-Bissonnette and Sutcliffe were able to share economic concerns with their counterparts about U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to heavily tax Canadian goods early next month.
Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand has said removing existing provincial trade barriers “could lower prices by up to 15 per cent, boost productivity by up to seven per cent and add up to $200 billion to the domestic economy.”
“There is a need for us, for the Canadian economy to be more horizontally integrated to reduce our dependence to the U.S. market,” Marquis-Bissonnette said.
‘This is a moment of urgency’
Sutcliffe said there’s no stronger example of internal trade barriers at work than Ottawa-Gatineau, as he’s heard from businesses who are unable to effectively sell their products across the Ottawa River.
“I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the country where there are two cities that are so closely located together with a provincial border between them,” he told CBC News.
One example is alcohol, where provinces exercise strong control. Sutcliffe said he’s heard from brewers in the area who said they have an easier time exporting to the U.S. than to Quebec.
Other barriers include technical barriers such as vehicle weight standards and regulatory barriers such as licensing and paperwork requirements.
Efforts to remove domestic trade hurdles have been ongoing for years, like in 2017 when provinces and territories signed the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. But some of those barriers persisted, as a detailed list of exemptions was negotiated for each province and territory.
The joint statement from Sutcliffe and Marquis-Bissonnette also acknowledges that some restrictions are necessary, such as those around safeguarding the French language.
While internal trade hurdles are not a new issue, the threat of new U.S. tariffs is. Sutcliffe hopes this inspires a political will to finally change those barriers.
“I think this is a moment of urgency and a moment when everybody gets together and tries to find solutions.”
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