Restaurants Canada is welcoming the Ontario government’s tabling of legislation to remove its Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) exceptions, adopt mutual recognition with reciprocating provinces, liberalize labour mobility and allow direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol.
“Every premier in Canada should be looking to Ontario and doing what it did (recently) on interprovincial trade,” said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “It’s also important to highlight the leadership of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on this issue. We’ll only have true free trade within our borders once every province acts.
“Right now, there is real opportunity for Canada to modernize its internal trade framework, and the momentum is strong. Yesterday’s move by Ontario is an important first step, but we need a real Team Canada approach from all provinces and territories.”
Restaurants Canadasaid it has been advocating for the removal of interprovincial trade barriers for years. With the U.S. tariff war threatening Canada’s food supply chains, it’s more important than ever that Canadian businesses and producers can trade freely across provincial borders, it said.
“We’re very pleased that the Ontario government is lifting all of its CFTA exceptions and adopting a mutual recognition framework with provinces willing to do the same,” added Kris Barnier, Vice-President for Central Canada at Restaurants Canada. “This will allow Ontario businesses to diversify their supply and client networks, do business more efficiently and ultimately make them more competitive and resilient in the face of economic upheaval.”
Restaurants Canada said the announcement comes on the heels of a commitment from Premier Ford and Finance Minister Bethlenfalvy at Restaurants Canada’s RC Show in Toronto last week to increase the discount restaurants and bars receive at LCBO from 10% to 15%.
Restaurants Canada is calling on all provinces to use the tools at their disposal, such as removing internal trade barriers, to help foodservice businesses regain their footing amid the ongoing trade dispute with the U.S.
Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing Canada’s diverse and dynamic foodservice industry. Restaurants are a nearly $120 billion industry employing 1.2 million Canadians and is the number one source of first-time jobs in Canada.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) also welcomed the Ontario government’s ground-breaking legislation to eliminate internal trade and labour mobility barriers, and allow direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol products.
“We also applaud the government’s bold measure to remove all remaining party-specific Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) exceptions,” said Julie Kwiecinski, Director of Provincial Affairs (Ontario)
“CFIB has long advocated for these three actions. Since 2022, we have released The State of Internal Trade: Canada’s Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card, an annual report where we grade federal, provincial and territorial governments on their interprovincial cooperation efforts. Grades include progress on mutual recognition, direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol products, and removing CFTA exceptions.
“In addition, mutually recognizing all provincial and territorial regulatory standards and applying the province’s “As of Right” health care professionals’ regulatory principles to other sectors were both included in CFIB’s 2025 Top 10 Ontario Election Priorities document.
“The U.S.-Canada trade war is a wake-up call for becoming more economically independent. We can’t control or predict the Trump administration’s next moves, but we can control what’s within our own borders.
“The government’s measures announced (recently) are about more than just creating opportunities – they’re also about creating a way for provinces to unite economically to stand up to the U.S. and together make Canada a more attractive international trading partner.”
The CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region, including 39,000 in Ontario.
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