N.S. businesses hope Trump tariff threat prompts action on provincial trade barriers

The United States and Canada have hit pause on a possible trade war but Nova Scotia businesses that export south of the border hope a push to find new markets will solve a decades-long impediment to trade — interprovincial barriers.

"I don't ever want tariffs imposed on Canadian goods, but a reduction in internal trade barriers, we have to take that, take what we can," said Ryan Manucha, a researcher with the C.D. Howe Institute think-tank and author of Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada's Quest for Interprovincial Free Trade.

"I've never seen such a rich body of ideas to resolve trade barriers, small and big, [from] high-visibility apparel to construction codes to electrical codes."

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs of up to 25 per cent on virtually all Canadian goods coming into the United States starting Tuesday. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Monday that Trump was pausing the promised tariffs for at least 30 days after Canada made a series of commitments to improve security along the border.

Provinces have been working for years on harmonizing standards and streamlining safety and inspection rules, as well as recognizing worker credentials, but progress has sometimes been glacial.

Manucha expects that work to kick into higher gear now that trade is on the political front burner.

"We have this incredible window that happens maybe once every two or three decades," said Manucha. "We're in it and I think it's going to be a stronger actioning than we've seen in many, many years."

Manucha lauded the Houston government for being a strong leader and "forward-thinking when it comes to internal trade."

Wineries face barriers

That view was shared by Karl Coutinho, president of Avondale Sky Winery in Newport, N.S., and chair of Wine Growers Nova Scotia. 

"I think Premier Houston and his government continue to advocate for reducing the barriers for interprovincial trade," said Coutinho. "We definitely want to have our feet on the ground here in Nova Scotia with sales at the NSLC, but from there, to grow we need to get outside of the province and that certainly includes across the country." 

He lamented the current state of affairs.

"It's easier for us to sell to the U.K. or overseas than it is within our own country," said Coutinho.

Nova Scotia wineries can sell and ship directly to customers in Manitoba and British Columbia but the remaining provinces and territories are mostly off limits.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers, including Tim Houston, have all encouraged Canadians to buy local products.

Coutinho said eliminating interprovincial barriers would make that easier and cheaper for winemakers.

"It shouldn't be easier for us to ship wine overseas than it is to send to New Brunswick or Ontario," he said.

Medical device companies hampered

Chris Cowper-Smith said medical device manufacturers would also benefit from less red tape.

"There are fewer issues when you look to enter the U.S. in terms of accessing the entire market," said the founder of Spring Loaded, a Nova Scotia company that sells custom-built knee braces. "Although each state has slightly different rules and regulations, it's much more streamlined when you attempt to sell a device and get it reimbursed."

The former chair of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce is also a partner in Mable Health, which is providing orthotics and prosthetic devices to customers in Quebec and Ontario.

Cowper-Smith said companies like his have been hampered by the different provincial "definitions of devices, the regulations that vary by province, as well as different types of funding streams."

"All of those three different variables make it quite complex for patients to be able to access the devices they need, whether it's a knee brace or a prosthetic limb," he said.

Cowper-Smith said he raised the issue with federal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc during his time with the chamber in 2023 "without success."

He expected that conversation would yield more now, given the tariffs.

"I think it certainly should be a motivator," said Cowper-Smith. "If we need to be more self-reliant and grow our domestic economy, these are precisely the kinds of things that we need to do so that Canadian businesses can grow and thrive within our own borders."