Canada’s Provincial Chambers Urge Premiers to Maintain Momentum on Internal Trade
Joint business agenda urges action on nation-building and competitiveness
Charlottetown, PEI – The chief executives of Canada's provincial and territorial chambers of commerce today released "Chambers of the Federation: An Agenda for a More Competitive Canada," a joint policy framework shared in advance of Canada’s premiers’ summer meeting in Charlottetown this week.
The chambers welcomed recent progress on internal trade, labour mobility, and intergovernmental cooperation, and outlined practical actions that governments can advance over the next 12 to 24 months to strengthen economic resilience and competitiveness.
“Canada’s premiers have made meaningful progress over the past year, and that momentum is worth recognizing,” said Shauna Feth, President and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce. “Now is the time for an all-hands-on-deck effort on implementation to unlock Canada’s full economic potential and provide the revenue base required to achieve our broader national objectives. By reducing barriers, connecting infrastructure, an d enabling investment and major project development, every province and territory stands to benefit from a stronger, more competitive national economy.”
The framework identifies five priorities for collective action:
- Build one Canadian economy by advancing internal trade, labour mobility, and regulatory alignment, making this their highest joint political priority.
- Compete globally through a “Team Canada” approach, aligned with the federal government on trade, supply chain resilience, and international competitiveness.
- Build and connect Canada's energy and trade infrastructure by identifying nationally significant corridors and coordinating investment plans.
- Accelerate approvals for nation-building projects by improving regulatory efficiency and certainty.
- Strengthen domestic procurement and industrial capacity to support Canadian businesses and more resilient supply chains.
"Canada's businesses are ready to build," said Rhonda Tulk-Lane, Chair of the Chambers of the Federation and President and CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. "They are ready to invest, hire, innovate and compete, and they need governments to move with the same urgency they do."
She said the progress made on internal trade, infrastructure and regulatory reform must now translate into sustained action.
"We encourage Canada's Premiers to seize this moment, work together, and turn today's momentum into lasting action. A stronger, more competitive Canada isn't built province by province — it is built together."
The chamber CEOs will be in Charlottetown throughout the Summer Meeting and available to premiers, officials, and media on July 21 and 22.
Collectively, the signatory chambers represent more than 600 local chambers of commerce and 200,000 businesses of all sizes, sectors and regions.
The full framework is available at https://chambersofthefederation.ca/
Signatories
- Rhonda Tulk-Lane, President & CEO, Atlantic Chamber of Commerce; Chair, Chambers of the Federation
- Daniel Tisch, President & CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce
- Véronique Proulx, President and CEO, Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec
- Chuck Davidson, President and CEO, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce
- Jen Riley, President and CEO, British Columbia Chamber of Commerce
- Shauna Feth, President and CEO, Alberta Chambers of Commerce
- Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce
- Rowena House, Executive Director, Baffin Chamber of Commerce
|
