Canadian Chamber of Commerce Appears Before Standing Committee on International Trade

April 28, 2026

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On Thursday, April 23 2026, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President, Strategic Policy & Supply Chains, Pascal Chan, appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade for their study on free trade in Canada.

In his remarks, Pascal emphasized that while global uncertainty continues to shape Canada’s outlook, many of the barriers to growth are domestic — particularly interprovincial trade restrictions that limit productivity and economic expansion. Removing these barriers could significantly boost GDP and improve competitiveness.

Opening remarks and recording can be viewed below.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

My name is Pascal Chan, I’m the Vice-President, Strategic Policy and Supply Chains at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which is Canada’s largest and most activated business network — representing 400 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 200,000 business of all sizes, from all sectors of the economy and from every part of the country — working to create the conditions for our collective success.

First, I would like to thank the members of the Committee for undertaking this study and for inviting me to appear as a witness. At the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, we are always looking for ways to enhance our country’s economic growth, productivity, and competitiveness in the global economy.

On the question of free trade within Canada, I’ll start by noting that toughest obstacles to overcome are not always external or flashy. You’ll often hear our President and CEO, Candace Laing, talk about the importance cultural or mindset shifts. And that’s because on matters like this, we cannot do the quintessentially Canadian thing and be too polite to openly discuss and admit what’s holding us back.

Since the U.S. President’s election, it does feel as though prospects for our economic prosperity have Canadians questioning whether we should have been more deliberate and proactive when it comes to dreaming big. To that end, a byproduct of this trade turmoil we’ve been experiencing has been an acknowledgement of our complacency when it comes to doing the difficult things that will allow us to grow our economy both abroad and domestically. For the latter, that means getting our own house in, order and genuinely pursuing one Canadian economy by slashing internal trade barriers.

The rationale for action is clear, as study after study has made the case that these barriers only serve to limit our economic growth. In January of this year, an International Monetary Fund report noted that eliminating all non-geographic, policy-related trade barriers could raise Canada’s real GDP by roughly 7 percent over the long run, which would’ve been a $210 billion boost in 2025. This is well in line with the Government of Canada’s assessment of $200 billion, or $5,100 per person.

It is also important to highlight the progress we have seen: the appointment of a minister responsible for interprovincial trade in December 2024, the elimination of federal exemptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the introduction of Bill C-5, the signing of the Canadian Mutual Recognition Agreement on the Sale of Goods, the approval of the memorandum of understanding on interprovincial trucking, as well as ongoing efforts to address challenges in various sectors. These are important measures that have received significant support from the business community.

However, challenges around internal trade didn’t evaporate when Bill C-5 received royal assent and some agreements were signed; several barriers still lie within provinces and territories’ separate sets of legislative, regulatory, and policy frameworks. These frameworks were established to solve similar problems that occur in each province, but were constructed and written in vastly different ways.

Now the focus is on the provinces and territories to do the hard work of looking inward to remove or streamline their own trade barriers. Last week, the Canadian Chamber held its first ever Future of Business Summit in Ottawa, which featured a panel of Premiers discussing what they can agree on in the current moment, and they noted that removing barriers to internal trade must remain a top priority.

Our hope is that despite the progress thus far, provinces and territories stay at the table, working toward meaningful progress. That said, we cannot politely accept that we’ve come this far only to settle for “good enough.” If momentum slows, the federal government should consider applying conditions on major federal transfers to provinces and territories requiring the elimination of specific barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility, as noted in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.

In this moment, when geopolitical uncertainty is high and the stability of our most important trading relationship is no longer a given, it is critical for our provincial, territorial and federal governments to continue the hard and valuable work in order to get the job done.

Thank you again for inviting me and thank you for your efforts to build a prosperous nation for all Canadians. I look forward to answering your questions.