Memorandum of Understanding with Manitoba

Economic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of New Brunswick and the Government of Manitoba

  

WHEREAS this Memorandum of Understanding sets out the roles and responsibilities in the partnership between the Government of New Brunswick and the Government of Manitoba;

AND WHEREAS interprovincial trade barriers cost Canada up to $200 billion annually, and their removal has the potential to increase Canadian GDP by as much as 7.9 per cent over the long term;

AND WHEREAS the Canadian economy is currently subject to economic and geopolitical uncertainty, including various tariffs and tariff threats by the United States on Canadian products, which threaten Canadian workers and businesses;

AND WHEREAS the Parties are committed to significantly expanding the ability of workers and businesses within their respective jurisdictions to take advantage of commercial opportunities across Canada, and in doing so strengthen Canada's economy;

AND WHEREAS the Parties trust federal, provincial and territorial regulatory bodies to make sound decisions that put the safety of Canadians first;

AND WHEREAS the Parties are demonstrating leadership by introducing enabling legislation aimed at leveraging regulatory recognition to significantly reduce barriers to trade with other provinces and territories;

AND WHEREAS New Brunswick has demonstrated leadership by enacting legislation to improve interprovincial labour mobility;

AND WHEREAS New Brunswick has shown strong commitment to advancing internal trade by reducing nearly half of its party-specific exceptions (PSEs) under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), streamlining trade barriers, and enhancing the movement of goods and services across jurisdictions;

AND WHEREAS Manitoba has consistently demonstrated leadership on internal trade with respect to the removal of PSEs under the CFTA, easing regulatory burdens and supporting the mobility of goods and people and is continuing to further open opportunities for trade and investment;

AND WHEREAS Manitoba is a leader on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales of alcohol and is currently fully open and whereas New Brunswick has enacted legislation to enable DTC.

Through this Memorandum of Understanding, the Parties agree to:

  1. Build on their respective legislation to remove internal trade barriers between them, and any additional legislation that may be required in the future by New Brunswick, so as to boost the flow of goods, services, investment, and workers, including through direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol and improved interprovincial labour mobility, while maintaining and strengthening levels of public safety and respecting the integrity and role of Crown corporations within certain provincial industries. Through New Brunswick's legislative amendments to the Liquor Control Act and the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act and Manitoba's legislation, the Fair Trade in Canada (Internal Trade Mutual Recognition) Act, the Labour Mobility Act, the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act, and the Regulated Health Professions Act, the Parties will strive to ensure that a good or equivalent service or registered worker that is deemed acceptable for sale, use or work in New Brunswick, is deemed acceptable for sale, use or work in Manitoba - and vice versa. 
  2. Encourage other Canadian jurisdictions that have not already done so to join Manitoba and New Brunswick in driving progress on internal trade through their own legislation and remove barriers to trade across Canada, including through regulatory recognition. 
  3. Further facilitate interprovincial labour mobility by working together to identify options to align regulated occupations and registration. 
  4. Manitoba and New Brunswick will work towards the non-application of PSEs under the CFTA for each other. 
  5. To enhance market opportunities for producers and increase consumer choice, New Brunswick will enable DTC sales from Manitoba producers by August 1 2025. Manitoban consumers can already direct purchase from New Brunswick producers. 
  6. The Parties will also engage in discussions on additional opportunities to improve diversity of available alcoholic products between each other's jurisdictions. 
  7. This Memorandum of Understanding sets out the understanding of the Parties with respect to their cooperation but is not legally binding and does not create any legal, equitable or financial rights, obligations or liabilities for either of the Parties.

Signed on the 21st day of July in the year 2025 in Huntsville, Ontario.

Premier Wab Kinew 
Government of Manitoba

Premier Susan Holt 
Government of New Brunswick

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