08:24 AM EST, 02/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- With potential United States tariffs to hit next week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is urging all provincial governments in the country ahead of the Committee on Internal Trade meeting to act now to remove internal trade barriers restricting the movement of goods, services and labor across Canada.

"It's been very heartening to see so much attention on the urgent need for open trade within Canada. We applaud [Nova Scotia's] Premier Tim Houston's plan to introduce legislation to tear down trade barriers with provinces that would do the same and urge all other provinces and territories to follow suit immediately. We have a real opportunity to fix a long-term challenge, but governments need to act now," said SeoRhin Yoo, CFIB's senior policy analyst for interprovincial affairs, i a statement.

According to a CFIB survey, nearly 90% of small businesses say removing internal trade barriers should be a priority for governments. Half (50%) said internal trade barriers harm production, the same share said they harm expansion, while about nine in 10 (87%) agree that food produced in provincially/territorially licensed or inspected facilities should be able to be sold in all provinces/territories.

CFIB is calling on governments to immediately adopt mutual recognition policies and agreements to allow goods and services approved in one Canadian province to be sold and used in all other provinces without additional requirements.