‘It would be so much easier’: Calgary distiller says he’s trapped by interprovincial trade barriers

Interprovincial trade barriers affect everything from professional regulations to cross-boundary booze sales, but tariff threats have reignited talk of change.

A local distillery owner says interprovincial trade barriers have made it difficult to expand business beyond Alberta to the rest of the country.

Mark Freeland, owner of Two Rivers Distillery in Calgary, says the patchwork of regulations and trade barriers makes expanding his market costly and complex.

“It would turn the market from four million into 40,” said Freeland.

“You almost have to look at each province as its own country, in some ways. Like for us in my industry, if I want to sell in B.C., I have to get approved through the provincial liquor control board, and then I have to get into the warehouse, and then I have to have people on the ground to go and get our products in the liquor stores and all that.”

Small businesses across Canada have complained about the barriers for decades but continue to face hurdles.

“We’re convening provincial and territorial leaders to do the vital work of breaking down the barriers that hamper interprovincial trade,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday.

“Trimming unnecessary red tape that is constraining our economic growth and holding Canada back from reaching its full potential.”

B.C. Premier David Eby also voiced his frustration this week amid a tariff threat from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We are kicking down the internal trade barriers in this country that make it easier to trade with the United States than to trade with Ontario,” he said.

Freeland says he wants to see industries like his approved in one province, and others can then fast-track those products into local stores.

He says his company has already gone through approvals and licensing in Alberta and shouldn’t have to do the same in other provinces.

“It’s just insane that you have to do that in every province when it would be so much easier,” said Freeland.

“We’ve already done it. The legwork is already done. It’s already done for B.C., it’s already done for Saskatchewan, it’s already done for Ontario. They should just be able to pull the product right out of the warehouse in St. Albert.

“We’d still need to have salespeople in Toronto or Montreal, but at least a store there could say, hey, I want to give this gin or this whiskey or this vodka a try.”

While there’s widespread agreement that these barriers hinder economic growth, dismantling them is a complex political challenge.

Mark Manger, a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto, says Canada does not have a federal regulator for many of the barrier issues.

“It’s also not really up to Ottawa to just decide to drop these barriers,” he said.

“Provinces don’t like to easily give up this regulatory authority; otherwise, they would have agreed to this long ago.”

Economists like Kevin Milligan from the University of British Columbia say barriers include working professions to the transport of goods, with various provincial trucking regulations adding an additional eight per cent more in costs for cross-country travel.

“That’s very tangible to Canadians because so many of our goods have to be transported. If you can cut the cost of shipping goods, that’s good for everyone’s pocketbook,” said Milligan.

One political expert at the University of the Fraser Valley believes it will take years for all 13 provinces and territories to be on the same page.

“To get into the minutiae of the regulations that exist in various industries and harmonize them, I think is going to take a lot of time,” said political science professor Hamish Telford.

Freeland hopes that one day, selling his products across Canada will be as easy as selling them within Alberta.

Alberta’s Jobs, Economy and Trade Minister Matt Jones provided a statement on Thursday:

“Starting with the New West Partnership, for the last 20 years Alberta has been a leader in breaking down unnecessary trade barriers across Canada. By cutting red tape and reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, Alberta is driving a stronger internal market, benefiting both businesses and consumers,” the statement read.

“At last Friday’s Committee on Internal Trade (CIT) meeting, Alberta and our federal, provincial and territorial counterparts agreed to bold steps to eliminate regulatory barriers, enhance labour mobility and standardize regulations across Canada. We committed to adopting mutual recognition for goods and services, improving the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and removing exceptions, all aimed at reducing trade barriers, boosting productivity and strengthening Canada’s domestic economy.

“Alberta’s government is actively working through the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) to further strengthen Alberta’s internal trade in goods and services. Alberta has already made significant strides, removing over 80 per cent of its CFTA exceptions since 2019. We remain committed to working with our provincial, territorial and federal counterparts to identity areas of opportunity where barriers can be removed.”