{"id":58137,"date":"2025-04-01T17:15:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/04\/01\/opinion-the-great-interprovincial-trade-barrier-mirage\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T17:15:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T17:15:48","slug":"opinion-the-great-interprovincial-trade-barrier-mirage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/04\/01\/opinion-the-great-interprovincial-trade-barrier-mirage\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: The great interprovincial trade barrier mirage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<header aria-label=\"Beginning of Article\" class=\"article-header article-header--story\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\" data-aqa=\"nav-breadcrumb\">\n<p>Breadcrumb Trail Links<\/p>\n<ol class=\"breadcrumbs__items list-unstyled\">\n<li class=\"breadcrumbs__item\">Economy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"article-header__detail\">\n<div class=\"article-header__detail__texts\">\n<p class=\"article-subtitle\">Chasing shiny objects while we need to dramatically shift how Canada governs its economy is a luxury we cannot afford<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<p><span class=\"published-date__since\">Published Apr 01, 2025<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 <span class=\"updated-date__since\">Last updated 10\u00a0hours ago<\/span> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 <span class=\"published-date__word-count\">4 minute read<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta__bottom\">\n<div class=\"bookmark-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"popover\" data-aqa=\"popover\" data-click-to-appear=\"True\" data-container=\"\" data-container-offset=\"\" data-no-style=\"\" data-popover-component=\"\" data-position=\"top\" data-sticky=\"\" data-tail-offset=\"200\" data-tail-position=\"right\"><button class=\"popover__trigger bookmark-button\"><span class=\"save-article-button save-article-button--default\" title=\"Save article\" data-article-id=\"7a3fab8b-dc08-476e-b65a-157ccd038eb4\" data-evt-skip-click=\"true\"\/><\/button><\/p>\n<div aria-describedby=\"popover-desc-popover-bookmark\" class=\"popover__content\" hidden=\"\" role=\"dialog\">\n<div class=\"popover__content__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"popover__content__text\" id=\"popover-desc-popover-bookmark\">\n<div class=\"bookmark__popover__content\">\n<p>You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"popover__content__close\" data-evt-skip-click=\"true\" title=\"Close\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\" class=\"icon--close\" height=\"12\" version=\"1.1\" width=\"12\"><polygon points=\"12 0.95 11.05 0 6 5.05 0.95 0 0 0.95 5.05 6 0 11.05 0.95 12 6 6.95 11.05 12 12 11.05 6.95 6\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"featured-image\" data-aqa=\"featured-image\"><picture class=\"featured-image__ratio\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=564&amp;h=423&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=rCHXfxNKzLuajIWDYRiezQ,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1128&amp;h=846&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=kX20bB0MomtCIJCT43mjog 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=564&amp;h=423&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=sKYs8T7lbFp9QTs1K_aMGQ,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1128&amp;h=846&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=PxzyRXYtn47hvNRFJkCiXw 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=472&amp;h=354&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=F04DcQLpCQrZn2vkO-KIQA,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=944&amp;h=708&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=31XycDz8PLYSFZVUbD31FA 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=472&amp;h=354&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=li3MKhwrpTjoDyETAwNkLQ,&#10;                https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=944&amp;h=708&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=BnDQwalMOEAebuAfzZg_sA 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=288&amp;h=216&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=kE3V36bFjf9m7YmFT_TCGQ,&#10;            https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0402-mg-canada-made.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=576&amp;h=432&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=roaGrsld7MU0sgcsD7_InQ 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"featured-image__caption image-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">To improve our current poor terms of trade, we need more high-margin, Canadian-made products and more value-added exports from our natural resources sold in more markets, writes John Ruffolo.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">Photo by Peter J. Thompson\/National Post\/Postmedia files<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<h2 class=\"visually-hidden\">Article content<\/h2>\n<p>Charles Napier Sturt \u2014 I want you to remember this name. Sturt was a British army officer who contributed much to the mapping of the Australian interior. He and other members of an official 1844 expedition risked their lives trying to find a freshwater inland sea deep in Australia\u2019s desert regions. So sure was Sturt of the sea\u2019s existence that the expedition included a boat and some sailors to pilot it (!). The idea, of course, turned out to be an illusion.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"ad__section-border article-content__ad-group ad_counter_2\">\n<section aria-describedby=\"advertisment7561679132945981593563063591632896\" class=\"ad\">\n<p>Advertisement 2<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad__container\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\" id=\"ad__inner-2\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner__container\" data-ad=\"[[6,6],[1200,250],[1200,90],[970,90],[970,250],[728,90],[300,250]]\" data-ad-interscroller=\"6x6\" data-ad-loc=\"2\" data-ad-mobile=\"[[6,6],[320,50],[300,50],[300,250],[300,600]]\" data-aqa=\"advertisement\" id=\"ad-2\" style=\"--desktopHeight:250px;--mobileHeight:600px\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad__placeholder\">\n<p>This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-block article-block-bg article-content__sign-in-group hidden\" data-aqa=\"identity-sign-in\" data-async=\"\" 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month<\/li>\n<li>Get email updates from your favourite authors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"identity-screen m-x-0 p-x-0 col-xs-12 col-md-6 flex-justify-center flex-align-center\" aria-live=\"assertive\">\n<section class=\"sail\" data-account-id=\"b9d3df2fccd108b5eff3c44f573b2cd6\" data-sailthru-personalization-engine=\"\" data-sailthru-personalization-engine-component=\"\"\/>\n<div class=\"m-x-0 p-x-0 col-xs-12 col-sm-6 col-md-12 flex-align-justify-center\" data-auth-component=\"\" id=\"auth-screen-form\">\n<div class=\"identity-screen-form--active w-full flex-align-justify-center\">\n<div class=\"identity-screen-form identity-screen__content w-full\">\n<h2 class=\"blocker-title\">Sign In or Create an Account<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"identity-divider__line\"\/><span class=\"identity-divider__text\">or<\/span><span class=\"identity-divider__line\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"identity-footer identity-screen__content m-x-0 p-x-0 col-sm-6 col-md-12\"\/><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">Sturt\u2019s story has a useful lesson for Canada in 2025. While we navigate the changed regional and global trading landscape created by the upheaval south of the border, Canada too must avoid steering a course guided by convenient illusions or comforting mirages.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">And that is why I feel I must, with due respect, address the growing chorus of Canadian economists, elected officials, think-tanks, pundits and others who have been hyping one specific response to the American tariff threats: pulling down Canada\u2019s \u201cinterprovincial trade barriers,\u201d which, they claim, would add as much as $200 billion annually to our domestic economy. If true, that sum is greater than the anticipated impact of the Trump tariffs.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">What are these barriers? A recent RBC report defines them as \u201cthe many factors that impede access to a provincial market for businesses or workers from another province.\u201d Per RBC, these include \u201cregulatory and administrative differences such as variations in licensing recognition, safety certifications, and technical standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">A potential $200 billion annual economic boost sounds too good to pass up. But this is where, upon closer inspection, the hype begins to fade. The $200 billion figure is itself an estimate. As CIBC\u2019s economics team recently commented about this issue, \u201cRemember that economists don\u2019t really have the ability to measure each of these barriers and do a study of them one at a time. So, they naturally look for some roundabout methods to estimating the (cost of the) barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"js-widget-content article-content__widget-group article-content__widget-group--content-slot12 article-content__widget-group--newsletter-slot\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-widget__new-story-page fp-headlinenews background--primary-light-gradient\" aria-labelledby=\"FinancialPostTopStories4231217973323327665035793968136192\" data-account-id=\"b9d3df2fccd108b5eff3c44f573b2cd6\" data-aqa=\"widget-newsletter\" data-newsletter=\"single\" data-newsletter-component=\"\" data-target-list=\"FP_HeadlineNews\" data-widget=\"newsletter\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-new-story-page-template\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__header__new-story-page\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__banner__new-story-page\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Top Stories\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/18.3.3\/websites\/images\/newsletters\/icon-fp-topStories.svg\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Top Stories<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__text__new-story-page\">Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__body__new-story-page\">\n<div class=\"js-replace-main__new-story-page\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__disclaimer__new-story-page text-size--tiny\">By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"js-submit-success\" hidden=\"\" id=\"submitSuccessFP_HeadlineNews\">\n<p>Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-widget__text__new-story-page\">A welcome email is on its way. 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Please try again<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"ad__section-border article-content__ad-group ad_counter_3\">\n<section aria-describedby=\"advertisment9663370118584078947936570538196992\" class=\"ad\">\n<p>Advertisement 3<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad__container\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\" id=\"ad__inner-3\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner__container\" data-ad=\"[[7,7],[1200,250],[1200,90],[970,90],[970,250],[728,90],[300,250]]\" data-ad-interscroller=\"7x7\" data-ad-loc=\"3\" data-ad-mobile=\"[[7,7],[300,250],[320,50],[300,50]]\" data-aqa=\"advertisement\" id=\"ad-3\" style=\"--desktopHeight:250px;--mobileHeight:250px\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad__placeholder\">\n<p>This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>CIBC continued: \u201cAnd essentially these (estimates) revolve around trying to explain trade flows, looking at the size of the markets and their distances, and then looking at what isn\u2019t explained and essentially assigning that to a trade barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thus, the \u201cestimating\u201d behind this $200 billion figure is really a projection of the results that may (or may not) materialize after particular barriers are removed.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">That is, the estimate is a theoretical take on how much internal trade Canada should ideally have.<\/p>\n<p>This is a bit like Charles Sturt\u2019s dogged insistence that somewhere in the middle of Australia there \u201cshould\u201d have been a freshwater inland lake.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s another very sound reason to question the urge to put interprovincial trade barriers at the top of Canada\u2019s economic \u201cto do\u201d list. When it comes to improving our economic resilience, there are other opportunities we should immediately focus on, with objectively larger upside potential. Significantly, they all involve putting energy into diversifying our products, not just markets.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\">To improve our current poor terms of trade, for example, we need more high-margin, Canadian-made products and more value-added exports from our natural resources sold in more markets. We must also reform our tax code to support the creation of entrepreneur-led companies in the innovation economy and develop strategies to help new companies scale up, increasing our stock of valuable intellectual property and maintaining control of crucial data.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"ad__section-border article-content__ad-group ad_counter_4\">\n<section aria-describedby=\"advertisment6007050343327463536024464622878720\" class=\"ad\">\n<p>Advertisement 4<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad__container\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\" id=\"ad__inner-4\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner__container\" data-ad=\"[[1200,250],[1200,90],[970,90],[970,250],[728,90],[300,250]]\" data-ad-loc=\"4\" data-ad-mobile=\"[[320,50],[300,50],[300,250]]\" data-aqa=\"advertisement\" id=\"ad-4\" style=\"--desktopHeight:250px;--mobileHeight:250px\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad__placeholder\">\n<p>This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Chasing zombie issues distracts us from focusing on where our public policy and public discourse needs to go. Specifically, how do we build a resilient, sovereign, higher value-added economy that reflects our human and natural potential?<\/p>\n<p>This kind of economy starts with sovereign digital and communications infrastructure, value-added energy and critical mineral solutions, and shrewd import substitution \u2014 underpinned by transparent spillover analysis for all public sector investments. So why aren\u2019t we talking about these goals with the same vigour?<\/p>\n<p>Is there a lot of latent internal economic dynamism that can be unlocked? Yes. Should we be trying to unlock it with smart policy changes? Definitely. Right now, chasing new shiny objects while we need to dramatically shift how Canada governs its economy is a luxury we cannot afford.<\/p>\n<section aria-labelledby=\"moreTopicLabel6602300616646053007508825968738304\" class=\"more-topic\" data-aqa=\"embed-more-topic\" data-carousel-component=\"\" data-carousel-icon-button=\"\" data-carousel-type=\"list\">\n<p>Recommended from Editorial<\/p>\n<p><button aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"more-topic__button-prev\" data-carousel-prev=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" title=\"previous\" type=\"button\"\/><\/p>\n<ol class=\"more-topic__items list-unstyled\" data-carousel-slide-list=\"\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<li data-evt-val=\"{\" control_fields=\"\" fight=\"\" trump=\"\" with=\"\" trumpism=\"\" data-carousel-item=\"\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\"> <picture class=\"more-topic__item-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"U.S. President Donald Trump visits the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Monday, March 17, 2025.\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Trump-1.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=0gknmvn-cWwx0aIGi-1W0A\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Trump-1.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=5&amp;sig=GZgvaV9dQ_Yaoby5YVI1sA\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Trump-1.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=0gknmvn-cWwx0aIGi-1W0A, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Trump-1.jpg?h=192&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=PL45un5KBPO4k7-AIWDAoA 2x,&#10;                                             https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Trump-1.jpg?h=288&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=yy6S-vppBfLWifuaRu_eFw 3x\" class=\"lazyload\" height=\"96\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"96\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><span class=\"more-topic__item-text-clamp\">Don\u2019t fight Trump with Trumpism<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-evt-val=\"{\" control_fields=\"\" hidden=\"\" internal=\"\" trade=\"\" walls=\"\" need=\"\" to=\"\" come=\"\" down=\"\" data-carousel-item=\"\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\"> <picture class=\"more-topic__item-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Canada is one country, but it still operates like 13 separate economies when it comes to trade. The result is higher costs, lost business opportunities and a national economy that isn\u2019t reaching its full potential, writes Alison Simpson.\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0315-mg-interprovincial.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=Y94pPv2EbSNYHVDYE-VwLw\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0315-mg-interprovincial.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=5&amp;sig=IHkSWciv_4xWxurnVuDaxg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0315-mg-interprovincial.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=Y94pPv2EbSNYHVDYE-VwLw, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0315-mg-interprovincial.jpg?h=192&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=-SVPpAgrQxBIU7108QFHWA 2x,&#10;                                             https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/financialpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0315-mg-interprovincial.jpg?h=288&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=omsWKx9o2YM-LWx_gcUnfA 3x\" class=\"lazyload\" height=\"96\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"96\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><span class=\"more-topic__item-text-clamp\">Canada&#8217;s hidden internal trade walls need to come down<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-evt-val=\"{\" control_fields=\"\" no=\"\" ministries=\"\" of=\"\" trade=\"\" diversification=\"\" data-carousel-item=\"\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\"> <picture class=\"more-topic__item-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024 in Washington.\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0116-biz-wire-musk.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=Rc5AzG8QX08y20-Sek641A\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0116-biz-wire-musk.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=5&amp;sig=ef-11LYF2Cl8Wlhe19CU1Q\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0116-biz-wire-musk.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=Rc5AzG8QX08y20-Sek641A, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0116-biz-wire-musk.jpg?h=192&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=GhxHq_ob1sTOKlA0owRusQ 2x,&#10;                                             https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0116-biz-wire-musk.jpg?h=288&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=uSUUybrrW4btioXk3MfdJw 3x\" class=\"lazyload\" height=\"96\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"96\"\/><\/picture>\n<p><span class=\"more-topic__item-text-clamp\">Please, no ministries of trade diversification<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><button aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"more-topic__button-next\" data-carousel-next=\"\" tabindex=\"-1\" title=\"next\" type=\"button\"\/><\/section>\n<p>Taking down interprovincial trade barriers that date back to Confederation and have survived wave after wave of previous reform attempts \u2014 we will get to those in due time. For today, our most pressing task is to position a small, open economy like Canada\u2019s for success in highly contested global markets, which means thinking beyond our relatively small internal market and focusing on where the biggest growth potential resides.<\/p>\n<p>This is a time to commit ourselves to big goals \u2014 to build big, not small.<\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\"><em>John Ruffolo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled growth and disruption investment strategies and Co-Founder and Vice Chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators. <\/em><\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\"><em><strong>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:<\/strong> Don\u2019t miss the business news you need to know \u2014 add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__share-group article-delimiter\" data-evt-val=\"{\" control_fields=\"\" data-evt-typ=\"page_scroll\">\n<p>Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/>Opinion: The great interprovincial trade barrier mirage<\/a><br \/>\n<br \/>2025-04-01 17:15:48<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Breadcrumb Trail Links Economy Chasing shiny objects while we need to dramatically shift how Canada governs its economy is a luxury we cannot afford Published Apr 01, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-58137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/58138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}