Canada is often viewed as a single, unified economy. In practice, it operates more like a patchwork of 13 partially separate markets. Trade between provinces can be almost as complex as exporting abroad. Licensing rules differ, product standards diverge, and professionals moving across borders often face a fresh round of paperwork and requalification.
Since taking office in March, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has set out to change this structure. The One Canadian Economy Act, passed in June, removes a range of federal-level obstacles to interprovincial trade and attempts to streamline labour mobility. Alongside it, the Building Canada Act gives Ottawa the authority to fast-track approvals for major infrastructure projects considered to be in the national interest.
‘The practical realities facing businesses remain complex’
For businesses, and especially for accountants, finance teams and consultants, these reforms could reshape how firms plan and operate across provinces. They promise faster investment decisions, reduced duplication and a clearer operating environment. Yet progress will depend on how federal ambitions align with provincial regulatory systems that have evolved over decades.
Productivity problem
Canada’s internal frictions have long been recognised. A Deloitte analysis this year estimated that removing trade barriers between provinces could unlock C$881bn in economic output by 2040, raising GDP by 2.4% and creating more than 130,000 jobs. The report argued that overlapping rules prevent firms from achieving scale and add costs without clear economic benefit.
Joy Nott, partner in trade and customs at KPMG in Canada, says the new federal measures mark a move towards addressing these inefficiencies. ‘The One Canadian Economy Act’s provisions regarding interprovincial trade and labour mobility represent positive progress,’ she says, ‘though the practical realities facing businesses remain complex.’ She explains that the legislation provides a federal framework, but provincial systems continue to play a central role.
Food processing illustrates the challenge. Provinces retain their own sanitary and phytosanitary standards, which means firms producing goods in more than one region still navigate separate sets of requirements. ‘The existence of multiple layers of provincial regulations and licensing increases administrative costs for businesses that operate across more than one province,’ Nott says.
‘The current trade environment underscores the need for a multi-disciplinary approach’
Labour mobility presents similar obstacles. Many professions require provincial licensing, even when qualifications are otherwise recognised nationally. Nott notes that while professionals can relocate, securing the relevant licence ‘may be time-consuming and, at times, discouraging despite recent legislative developments’. She argues that moving towards ‘a true single Canadian economy’ will require long-term cooperation between governments, along with sustained business pressure to streamline, remove or harmonise duplicative requirements.
Under review
Some firms are already reassessing their longer-term strategies. Ruth Todd, partner and national leader at KPMG Private Enterprise, says the combination of the trade reforms and the 2025 federal budget is encouraging boards to revisit structures, capital planning and potential expansion. ‘The current trade environment, combined with recent reforms, and the 2025 federal budget underscores the need for a multi-disciplinary approach,’ she says.
Todd explains that companies are looking more closely at how potential shifts in regulation, tax policy and infrastructure investment might influence decisions about growth or succession. She describes clients seeking support with ‘strategic and operational planning, tax consulting, developing finance models and securing financing, and consulting services related to project management, environmental compliance and regulatory affairs’.
Many medium-sized firms, she adds, are weighing how aggressively to expand into new provinces and whether the emerging reforms justify changes to their business models. ‘The challenges of the last few years have prompted many Canadian business owners to re-evaluate their long-term goals,’ she says.
Build faster
The Building Canada Act aims to tackle a second barrier to competitiveness: the slow pace at which major infrastructure projects progress. By allowing Ottawa to designate some pipelines, transmission lines and transport links as nationally significant, the legislation is designed to shorten approval timelines and reduce uncertainty.
‘The act could have significant implications for accelerating investment decisions’
Recent evidence suggests businesses broadly support this approach. A KPMG survey of 501 Canadian executives, released shortly before the 2025 federal budget, found that more than 90% believe that Canada must act urgently on trade-enabling infrastructure. A similar proportion said that these projects would be a ‘game changer’ for their firms if delivered within five to seven years, provided they meet environmental, social and economic standards.
Andras Vlaszak, director in global infrastructure advisory at KPMG in Canada, says clearer timelines can materially change investment decisions. ‘If successfully implemented, the act could have significant implications for reducing project risk and accelerating investment decisions,’ he says.
A faster permitting process, he adds, allows projects to reach a final investment decision ‘sooner, reducing uncertainty and allowing developers to make informed investment decisions earlier in the project’s lifecycle’. Projects that once appeared marginal may become more attractive when approval pathways are better defined.
Oversight demand
Faster approvals do not lessen the need for oversight. With federal and provincial governments playing larger roles in permitting and financing, Vlaszak expects growing demand for ‘assurance, sustainable development and Indigenous consultation assurance services to ensure compliance with the various programme criteria.’ He describes the launch of a federal major projects office as a ‘good first step’, though further clarity will be needed to understand how it will interact with existing agencies and project sponsors.
The reforms are already influencing the questions companies bring to their advisers. Internal trade adjustments are prompting reviews of cross-provincial structures and tax planning. Infrastructure provisions are raising new considerations around financing, risk and compliance.
Todd notes that owners looking to sell or transition their firms increasingly want to understand how valuations and deal structures might shift under the new environment. Vlaszak, for his part, sees infrastructure investment as a force that could ‘rewire trade flows across the country and enable investments and access to markets that were previously unavailable’.
Looking ahead
Whether Carney’s reforms achieve the scale of change promised will depend heavily on provincial action. Canada has launched several internal trade initiatives over the past three decades, yet the share of interprovincial trade in GDP has barely moved, according to Statistics Canada. Business groups argue that the combination of global tensions, supply-chain pressures and productivity challenges gives the current effort greater urgency.
For accountants, auditors and finance professionals, the reforms already offer new considerations for planning and advice. As Canada works to bridge the gaps between its 13 economies, the effects will continue to shape how companies structure themselves, where they invest and how they navigate the country’s still-fragmented regulatory landscape.
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