Two-thirds of Canadian small businesses oppose tolls on nationally significant routes connecting provinces
Moncton, September 24, 2026 – As governments work to break down barriers to trade within Canada, small businesses say tolls on critical interprovincial transportation routes should not be part of the equation.
New data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s June Your Voice Survey shows that two-thirds (66%) of small businesses across Canada oppose tolls on nationally significant highways that serve as the only practical road connection between provinces or territories. Opposition rises to 68% among small businesses in Atlantic Canada.
“At a time when governments are working to eliminate barriers to internal trade, adding a toll at the New Brunswick–Nova Scotia border would take us in the opposite direction,” said Frederic Gionet, Atlantic Director for the CFIB. “Small businesses rely on these routes to move goods, serve customers and keep supply chains moving. New Brunswick should abandon its toll plan, and Nova Scotia should remove the remaining tolls on the Cobequid Pass.”
The issue is particularly important in Atlantic Canada, where a limited number of transportation corridors connect provinces and markets. The Trans-Canada Highway, the Confederation Bridge and Marine Atlantic services to Newfoundland and Labrador are essential links for businesses moving goods and people across the region.
Businesses already face significant transportation, fuel and operating costs. Charging businesses simply for crossing a provincial boundary risk creating another cost on interprovincial commerce at the same time governments are publicly working to make trade within Canada easier.
CFIB is calling on the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments to prioritize the removal of interprovincial trade barriers and ensure nationally significant transportation corridors facilitate, not penalize, the movement of goods and services between provinces.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Frédéric Gionet
Director, Legislative Affairs, Atlantic
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
frederic.gionet@cfib.ca
c: 506-961-2793
Methodology
CFIB’s Your Voice Survey – June 2026 is based on 932 responses from small business owners across Canada. The results have a margin of error of ±3.21 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses, with 103,000 members across every industry and region. In Atlantic Canada alone, CFIB represents more than 10,000 members, over 900 of them in PEI, and collectively employ more than 124,000 people in the region (10,200 in PEI). CFIB advocates for policy change at all levels of government, provides expert advice and tools, and negotiates exclusive savings to help business owners succeed. Learn more at cfib.ca.
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