Dear John,

The U.S. presidential election later this year is causing growing concern in Ottawa about the prospect of protectionist trade policies.

A new essay published by the Fraser Institute today finds that the federal government should encourage the provinces to liberalize trade within Canada – especially given the concerns about growing U.S. trade protectionism.

Interprovincial trade barriers add 8–14.5% to the prices of goods and services in Canada... which implies direct economic costs of around $32 billion a year!

Barriers to trade and labour mobility also contribute to slower productivity growth in the economy.

Check out the full essay here.

Sincerely,

Niels Veldhuis
President
The Fraser Institute