Canada is tariffing itself with interprovincial trade barriers, says IMF report

Lift the barriers, however, and the economy could potentially grow by 7%

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Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers amount to an estimated nine per cent internal tariff, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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Cross-province service barriers are responsible for much of the tariff, with the IMF estimating it’s as high as 40 per cent in sectors such as health care and education. Lift the barriers, however, and the economy could potentially grow by seven per cent, Federico Díez and Yuanchen Yang, said in a report that was released on Tuesday.

“The Canadian economy remains much less integrated than its global footprint would suggest,” they said. “Goods, services and workers face significant barriers when moving across provincial and territorial lines — a fragmentation that affects productivity, competitiveness and overall resilience.”

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