New Brunswick is making top marks when it comes to reducing barriers to trade and labour mobility, according to the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs. The province earned an A grade in the latest internal trade report card from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business – it’s highest score to date and a significant improvement from a C in 2025. “New Brunswick is proving that provinces can lead the way in breaking down barriers and creating a stronger, more connected Canadian economy,” said Premier Susan Holt in a news release from the province. “Through our leadership on internal trade, we are removing unnecessary barriers, improving labour mobility and creating more opportunities for New Brunswick companies to grow. This recognition shows that New Brunswick is leading the way in modernizing internal trade in Canada.” Provincial grades In total, eight provinces, including Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and two territories also received As. “PEI is an export-driven province with a variety of goods and services that Canadians want and need,” said Jenn Redmond, P.E.I.’s minister of Economic Development, Trade and Artificial Intelligence. “Reducing our own internal barriers so Island businesses can gain greater market access is smart, responsible policy that will strengthen a healthy, resilient, and diversified Island economy. The benefits from these important changes will no doubt improve the lives of Islanders and our province.” The report card, which was released Wednesday, graded three areas of interprovincial/territorial co-operation: “Our government is committed to making it easier for New Brunswick businesses to compete, grow and reach new markets across the country,” said Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours in the release. “By reducing regulatory barriers, improving co-operation with our provincial partners and creating more consistent rules for trade and labour mobility, we are delivering practical solutions that support economic growth and benefit New Brunswickers.” ‘We’ve seen some good progress’ Frédéric Gionet, Atlantic director of legislative affairs for CFIB, told CTV News the progress that has been made is a result of trade war with the United States. He adds knocking down barriers is more challenging than people realize, but there has been a willingness to identify and reduce them. “We’ve seen some good progress across the board, across the provinces. But what really is the challenge now is a lot of these things were made under memorandum of understanding,” said Gionet. “The idea is actually to translate some of these good intentions and some of these memories of understanding into concrete actions over the next year.” While this year’s report reflects progress, Gionet says next year will be focused on action. “Hopefully the momentum stays. People can get tired of talking about trade, internal trade and barriers, and some people might still want to protect certain areas of their economies versus their neighbors. Therefore, the work is far from being done,” he said. “It’s not just about being competitive with ourselves inside Canada and making ourselves a little more productive, it’s also when we’re selling to the world. If we don’t have our act together internally with our supply chains, we’ll be depending on other countries for many of the supplies and eliminating the opportunities for some of our smaller businesses here that could take advantage of trading.” Even if the trade situation improves with the United States, New Brunswick’s Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours says the momentum can’t be stopped. “We moved barriers to permit people to come work from other provinces and territories to New Brunswick. We are moving also for tradespeople to come to New Brunswick by removing fees like application fees,” he said. “The objective is not only to be able to buy from other provinces, but it’s also to permit and give a chance to our business in New Brunswick to be able to sell in other parts of the country and have a bigger possibility of a bigger market.” With files from CTV Atlantic’s Avery MacRae. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
