Manitoba has signed onto a new deal that will impact trade in the province.

The province of Manitoba has reached an agreement with governments across Canada on a comprehensive, ambitious new Canadian Free Trade Agreement covering trade in goods, services, investment and labour mobility.

Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Cliff Cullen calls it great new for Manitoba.

“Manitoba businesses have the skills, knowledge, and experience, as well as the products and services, to successfully compete anywhere in Canada and around the world,” said Cullen.  “This historic agreement will enhance the free movement of goods, open markets for service suppliers, strengthen investment commitments and improve access to government procurement opportunities across the country.”

The CFTA replaces the existing Agreement on Internal Trade and covers most areas of the Canadian economy. Unlike the AIT, which only applies to specified sectors of the economy, the CFTA will apply automatically to all economic activity unless an exception is specifically listed.  In addition, the CFTA will automatically apply to goods and services in new and emerging sectors which significantly removes regulatory uncertainty.

The minister noted the CFTA will better align internal trade commitments with those in international agreements, such as the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.  It will enable Manitoba businesses to compete on an equal footing with foreign businesses within the domestic market, he said.

The CFTA take effect on July 1 and includes the following features:

  • increasing access to billions of dollars in government procurement opportunities;
  • retaining key elements of the AIT, such as labour mobility for regulated occupations;
  • enhancing existing dispute settlement provisions to ensure jurisdictions meet the agreement’s rules;
  • adding a regulatory reconciliation process to reduce duplicate, overlapping or inconsistent regulations, which will provide new opportunities for further harmonization of regulatory requirements related to the trucking industry;
  • implementing a single electronic portal to find procurement opportunities across the country, making it easier for small and medium-sized Canadian businesses to participate; and
  • committing to bring the financial services sector into the agreement and to further negotiation to enhance trade in in beer, wine and spirits. 

“This agreement represents a fundamental shift in the way we conduct trade within Canada,” said Cullen. “It is a tremendous opportunity for both our province and the entire Canadian economy. Manitoba will continue to pursue opportunities to modernize and expand trade both within Canada and globally.”

Cullen noted the importance of market access as Manitoba’s businesses depend almost equally on inter-provincial and international trade. Inter-provincial exports of goods and services were valued at $18.8-billion in 2015, representing 52 percent of all Manitoba exports and almost 30 percent of the province’s GDP.