Order Fixing January 1, 2026 as the Day on Which the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act Comes into Force: SI/2025-107

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 24

Registration
SI/2025-107 November 19, 2025

ONE CANADIAN ECONOMY ACT

Order Fixing January 1, 2026 as the Day on Which the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act Comes into Force

P.C. 2025-783 November 6, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, under section 3 of the One Canadian Economy Act, chapter 2 of the Statutes of Canada, 2025, fixes January 1, 2026 as the day on which the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act, as enacted by section 2 of the One Canadian Economy Act, comes into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order fixes January 1, 2026, as the date on which the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act (the Act) comes into force.

Objective

The objective of this Order is to fix January 1, 2026, as the coming-into-force date of the Act, which is to promote free trade and labour mobility by removing federal barriers to the interprovincial movement of goods and provision of services and to the movement of workers within Canada, while continuing to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians, their social and economic well-being and the environment. This is a key step towards achieving the Government of Canada’s priority to build one Canadian economy by removing barriers to interprovincial trade.

Background

The Government of Canada is committed to unlocking the country’s full economic potential and building the strongest economy in the G7. The imposition of tariffs by the United States (U.S.) on Canada has highlighted the need to strengthen the Canadian economy, diversify Canada’s trade relations and increase domestic productivity, resilience and competitiveness. One way to achieve these objectives is to remove barriers to interprovincial trade, including those maintained by the Government of Canada.

Every year, more than $530 billion worth of goods and services move across provincial and territorial borders. This is equal to almost 20% of Canada’s gross domestic product. Economists estimate that the removal of all barriers to internal trade and labour mobility across the country has the potential to add up to $200 billion to the Canadian economy over time. This would require the removal of all barriers, most of which are within provincial and territorial jurisdictions.

To support the removal of federal barriers to interprovincial trade, the Government of Canada introduced the Act, which received royal assent on June 26, 2025.

The Act is designed to show leadership in this space by removing federal internal trade barriers across Canada.

Regulations are required to support the implementation of the Act, including to prescribe exceptions, conditions and restrictions in its application. These regulations, the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations, will come into force on January 1, 2026, to align with the coming into force of the Act.

The Act is complementary to provincial and territorial efforts. Several provinces passed their own laws in 2025 to remove internal trade barriers through mutual recognition, many of which only benefit provinces and territories who reciprocate. However, the Act recognizes provincial and territorial requirements and frees trade without the need for reciprocity and aims to avoid a patchwork where laws apply to some but not all jurisdictions. On a separate track, the Government of Canada is also working with provinces and territories on a national mutual recognition agreement on goods. Together, these initiatives are building towards one Canadian economy, making it easier for Canadian businesses to sell their goods across the country.

Implications

The Act provides a framework to reduce the burden of federal rules that apply to trade across provincial and territorial borders. This means that a good or service produced, used, or distributed in line with the requirements of a province or territory is recognized as meeting comparable federal requirements that pertain to interprovincial trade. The federal requirement remains in place but would be considered satisfied if the comparable provincial or territorial requirement has already been met.

A requirement on goods or services falls within the scope of the Act when it meets two criteria:

Federal requirements that apply to all goods and services, whether they are traded or not, are not included in the scope of this legislation. The federal requirement must apply specifically to the interprovincial movement of goods or the interprovincial provision of services.

Where all the above criteria are met, a business that complies with the provincial or territorial requirement will be considered to also comply with the federal requirement, reducing the regulatory burden and making it easier to trade across the country. For example, the framework allows an appliance manufacturer to satisfy the federal requirement to certify their household appliance as meeting federal energy efficiency standards if they already have completed a provincial or territorial certification and submitted that certification to Natural Resources Canada.

The new legislation also provides a framework to recognize provincial and territorial licences and certifications for workers. This means that a worker authorized by a provincial or territorial jurisdiction can more quickly and easily work in the same occupation within federal jurisdiction. For instance, land surveyors already licensed to practice in a province would be recognized to practise in federal jurisdiction. Workers in the scope of the Act include land surveyors, locomotive engineers and related occupations. By making it easier to get a federal job, it may also be easier for the federal government to meet the needs of the public and support essential projects across Canada.

A federally regulated occupation falls within the scope of the Act, where there is both a federal and provincial or territorial authorization for the same occupation.

The Order will be published at the same time as the associated regulations, which are needed to support and fully implement the Act.

Consultation

In May 2025, as the Act was being drafted, the Government of Canada consulted all provinces, territories and 22 business associations via written engagement. The Privy Council Office also sent letters and background material to 66 Indigenous national level organizations, regional representative organizations and modern treaty and self-governing partners. Several other Indigenous groups were also copied on the letters, as members of the regional representative organizations.

In August 2025, the Government of Canada undertook further consultations to inform the development of regulations to support the implementation of the Act. A Notice of Intent was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, calling for written submissions on how the Act would impact regulated parties, potential exceptions that should be considered and criteria that should be used for determining comparability. In addition, in partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, officials held one national, five regional and five sectoral roundtables with stakeholders across the country and from all economic sectors. Other sessions were also held with agriculture and agri-food stakeholders, major unions and the Indigenous Working Group on Trade (I-Trade).

Contact

Intergovernmental Affairs — Internal Trade
Privy Council Office
85 Sparks Street, Room 1000
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A3
Email: internaltrade-commerceinterieur@pco-bcp.gc.ca