Canadian Small Business Owners Not Feeling Impact of Internal Trade Reforms Despite High Government Grades, CFIB Report Finds

By Kekeletso Nkele, small.news Assistant

(small.news) — Most Canadian small business owners say they have yet to see practical improvement in trading across provincial lines, despite governments achieving their highest marks in years for internal trade reform, according to a report card released by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business on July 15, as reported by Kenora Miner & News.

The CFIB’s 2026 State of Internal Trade report awarded the federal government an A+ and handed A grades to 10 provinces and territories, reflecting the widespread adoption of mutual recognition agreements that allow goods approved for sale in one province to be sold in others without additional regulatory clearance.

However, the federation said the strong scores mask a significant gap between government commitments and what small business owners are experiencing on the ground.

Most Small Business Owners Have Seen No Change

Some 69% of small business owners surveyed by CFIB said they had not noticed any meaningful improvement in how easy it is to conduct business across provincial lines over the past year. 16% said conditions had actually become more difficult. More than half — 57% — said they remain unfamiliar with the reforms introduced in that period.

Brianna Solberg, CFIB’s director for the Prairies and Northern Canada, said the results highlight the distance between policy announcements and operational reality for small firms. She said small business owners are still dealing with inconsistent rules, additional paperwork and higher costs, and that progress recorded on paper will not translate into results until those barriers come down in a concrete and measurable way.

Tax Complexity, Licensing Gaps and Food Restrictions Remain Unresolved

The report identifies ongoing friction in several areas that directly affect small business owners operating across provincial boundaries. Tax complexity, differences in professional licensing requirements between provinces, and transportation and logistics regulations all continue to impose costs and administrative burdens.

Restrictions on the interprovincial sale of food and alcohol are identified as a particular pressure point, limiting the markets available to producers and restricting consumer choice. The CFIB is calling on governments to follow through on a memorandum of understanding for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, which has been signed but not yet implemented in a way that small business owners can act on.

CFIB Calls for Implementation Over Announcements

The federation set out four priorities for governments to address before its next assessment: extending mutual recognition to cover all goods, services and labor, including food, alcohol and workplace safety rules; reducing the number of exceptions carved into existing free trade agreements; delivering on the direct-to-consumer alcohol sales commitment; and simplifying regulations that raise costs for businesses operating in multiple provinces or territories.

Solberg said governments have demonstrated the capacity to cooperate and make progress on internal trade, and that the next required step is delivery rather than further commitments.

Grading Methodology to Shift Toward Real-World Results in 2027

The CFIB said it will revise its grading approach from 2027, moving away from measuring signed agreements and stated commitments toward tracking measurable outcomes that small business owners can observe in their day-to-day operations.

Solberg said the pace of internal trade progress over the past two years has outpaced any comparable period in the previous decade, and that the federation’s assessment framework needs to reflect that shift. She warned that 2027 grades are likely to fall significantly if governments do not move from signing agreements to actively dismantling barriers.

The CFIB represents 103,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.