Shooting Ourselves in the Trade Foot. Again.
From: Lawrence HermanTo: Trade ObserversDate: June 24, 2025Re: Shooting Ourselves in the Trade Foot. Again. It never ends. On June 5, Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet tabled Bill C-202, a private member’s bill that’s yet another regrettable effort to enshrine Canada’s Soviet-style supply management system in the statute books. The bill would prohibit any increase in imports of […] Clearing the Air: The Taxation and Regulation of Reduced-Harm Nicotine Products
Clearing the Air: The Taxation and Regulation of Reduced-Harm Nicotine Products • Taxes on combustible cigarettes in Canada account for almost 70 percent of their final price. Under the most recent excise tax impositions, some low-risk products carry a combined excise and sales tax imposition that also forms a high percentage of the price paid […] Reforming Canada’s Trade Remedy System for Turbulent Times
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 22, 2025Re: Reforming Canada’s Trade Remedy System for Turbulent Times In four short months, Donald Trump’s second presidency has disrupted the circulatory system of global trade. In addition to the toll so far and potential further costs of his tariff war, which has closed off the US market to […] Industries Most Affected by Certification Barriers in Interprovincial Hiring
Certification barriers affect Canadian industries unevenly. Mining and professional services have the highest rates of interprovincial hiring, while healthcare and transportation also rely heavily on certified or licensed workers from other provinces and territories. Simplifying provincial certification regulations, or recognizing credentials issued by other jurisdictions, could help boost workforce development, support business expansion, and enhance […] Canadian Carbon Pricing Requires Attention to Detail – and Sound Economics
To: Prime Minister Mark CarneyFrom: Grant Bishop, Keith LeBlanc and Brice MacGregorDate: May 8, 2025Re: Carbon Pricing Requires Attention to Detail – and Sound Economics Rewind a year and many Canadians were expecting a carbon tax election. Of course, other threats to Canada’s economy soon overshadowed climate policy as the ballot question. Last week’s election and […] Reimagining Canada’s Trade Strategy in Response to US Pressures
From: Harvey NaglieTo: Trade war watchersDate: April 24, 2025Re: Reimagining Canada’s Trade Strategy in Response to US Pressures The C.D. Howe Institute’s report on Canada’s response to intensifying US trade pressures offers a pragmatic blueprint centered on economic de-risking, strategic diplomacy, and safeguarding existing trade frameworks like CUSMA/USMCA. Its recommendations – strengthening economic foundations, restrained retaliation, support for tariff-affected […] Canada and the EU: How to Salvage International Commitments to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
To: Climate change warriorsFrom: Marcel Boyer and Christian GollierDate: April 11, 2025Re: Canada and the EU: How to Salvage International Commitments to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Confronting climate change requires a restoration of a sense of solidarity and responsibility in our complex world. Energy sobriety, in both consumption and production, is part of the solution. […] A Backgrounder on Remaining Barriers to Internal Trade within Canada
Canadians are aware that there remain many important – and silly – barriers to trade within Canada, and that we can ill-afford the cost of these barriers to East-West trade, especially given the furious headwinds against North-South trade coming out of the White House. However, it would be wrong to suggest that there has not been important progress in reducing these barriers. Ontario’s Financial Future: Leading the Charge for a Competitive and Modernized Regulatory Framework
From: Harvey NaglieTo: Financial regulation observers Date: March 6, 2025Re: Ontario’s Financial Future: Leading the Charge for a Competitive and Modernized Regulatory Framework Ontario faces a pivotal moment. As Canada’s financial capital, it has long benefited from a stable financial sector. However, the evolving global landscape demands more than stability – it requires bold leadership. […] Greenwashing Provision Has No Place in New Competition Act
From: John PecmanTo: Competition policy watchersDate: March 4, 2025Re: Greenwashing Provision Has No Place in New Competition Act Bill C-59, the last of three recent rounds of amendments to the Competition Act that strengthened Canada’s ability to tackle anti-competitive and deceptive marketing practices, contained a problematic “greenwashing” provision. That provision expanded previous prohibitions of misrepresentations about products and […] Ryan Manucha on CBC News: Tariff Threats and Inter-provincial Trade Barriers
C.D. Howe Institute Research Fellow Ryan Manucha speaks to Andrew Nichols of CBC News about how President Donald Trump’s threats to levy high tariffs on Canadian goods has brought renewed attention to the trade barriers between provinces that hinder Canada’s economic growth. Lawrence Herman – Supply management’s days may be numbered. Good!
Published in the Financial Post.
Just when the Americans have elected an aggressive president and just before the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (the old NAFTA) is due for re-negotiation, the Liberal government, with all-party agreement, supports an egregiously protectionist piece of legislation that will only make Canada’s political problems with the Trump administration that much worse.
As a self-inflicted injury, little surpasses Bill C-282, a Bloc Québécois member’s private bill that sailed through the House of Commons last year. The bill, helped along by the well-financed dairy lobby, would embed Canada’s supply management system in law, prohibiting any trade agreement from allowing as much as one additional gram…