TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew signed an agreement Wednesday to boost the movement of goods and labour between the two provinces, including direct-to-consumer alcohol sales.
Both premiers signed a memorandum of understanding, which followed Ontario signing similar bilateral deals with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
"Our two provinces already do approximately $19.5 billion of interprovincial trade every single year, but we can do better," Ford said.
"As neighbours and partners within Canada, Ontario and Manitoba can lead the way by creating new opportunities for goods, services and workers to move freely between our provinces."
Ontario recently tabled legislation to do away with all exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement that protected certain goods and services.
Manitoba is set to table similar legislation, Kinew said. He said the new deal is about trust.
"We trust that somebody who gets a red seal in Ontario, somebody who gets a professional designation in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, we trust that they're gonna be able to do a great job if they come to Manitoba," Kinew said.
"And we can guarantee that you can trust us as well, too, that when we send our tradespeople, we send our engineers, we send our best."
New Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed to get rid of interprovincial trade barriers at the federal level by Canada Day.
Nova Scotia passed a law similar to Ontario's bill and Prince Edward Island recently introduced legislation to eliminate barriers to trade and labour mobility with reciprocating jurisdictions.
Ford again asked all premiers to join the others already at the table.
"We're looking forward to signing with P.E.I., looking forward to signing with Saskatchewan and Alberta," he said.
Ford said he is also optimistic Quebec will come on board as he's been texting with Quebec Premier François Legault.
"Before July the first, hopefully, we can get all the territories and provinces on board and it'd be a shame if they weren't because they're going to miss the train and it's not going to benefit their communities," Ford said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
