Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is inviting eastern provinces to join the New West Partnership, an interprovincial trade agreement to cut red tape for easier flow of goods and workers across the country.
The New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) was created in 2010 by Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, with Manitoba joining seven years later. Now, Moe wants all provinces to come onboard to establish “free and fair trade” between all Canadian provinces and territories.
Several provinces have already signed memorandums of understanding to find ways to boost Canada-wide trade and the federal government has also removed most of its interprovincial barriers, but Moe said more could be done.
“I would say that the quickest, the simplest, and the most straightforward way to achieve free and fair trade across the nation in Canada is quite simply, to expand the New West partnership to all provinces and territories across our great nation,” Moe said during a July 17 press conference in Saskatoon.
The premier also extended the invitation in a July 16 post on X, saying the agreement has been responsible for “Canada’s largest barrier-free interprovincial market” since its inception 15 years ago.
The legally binding free trade agreement comes with a “dispute settlement mechanism” that applies to all governments, businesses, workers, and investors involved, Moe said in a formal letter to other premiers, which he included in his social media post.
“The agreement has lower procurement thresholds with fewer procurement exemptions than the CFTA,” he wrote, referring to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
Moe said it also provides for mutual recognition of worker certifications without requiring additional examinations or training, streamlines business registration, eliminates residency requirements, and harmonizes standards and regulations to reduce administrative barriers.
The decision to invite other premiers was made at the recent Western Premiers’ Conference held in Yellowknife, Moe said.
“By expanding the NWPTA, we can deepen interprovincial collaboration and further grow our economies,” he wrote in the letter.
“We look forward to the opportunity to work together to further advance regulatory cooperation, open, transparent, and rules based trade and investment, and labour mobility across Canada.”
Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island have already signed memorandums of understanding to bolster trade. Some eastern provinces have also signed internal trade agreements including Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, B.C., and the Yukon have also introduced legislation that would formalize free trade with other Canadian jurisdictions.
Ottawa announced an end to federal trade barriers on June 30, which were associated with federal procurement guidelines related to financial entities, commercial land development, transportation services, and space projects.
The federal government has also passed its One Canadian Economy Act. The legislation, introduced in June, aims to eliminate federal obstacles to internal trade and labour mobility with a focus on “nation-building” projects. It became law on June 26.
