The 2022 edition of Canada' Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card marks the fifth anniversary of the Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).
Introduction
This report card grades three major areas of inter-provincial/territorial cooperation:
- Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) exceptions,
- the existence of select interjurisdictional barriers to internal trade, and
- the implementation status of reconciliation agreements under the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT).
Within this framework, governments with the highest overall scores are those that have the fewest exceptions and have made the most progress towards reducing specific barriers. Table 1 summarizes scores for each area in each jurisdiction.
The highest overall grade is a B, indicating that much work remains to be done to reduce internal trade barriers (see Table 1). With regards to the areas of inter-provincial/territorial cooperation, grades are highest for the total number of exceptions to the CFTA in 2021, and the implementation status of reconciliation agreements. This signals that some governments have taken the actions set out in the CFTA to promote openness and reduce and eliminate barriers to trade where possible. Each of these two sections (exceptions to the CFTA and implementation status of reconciliation agreements) represents 40% of the overall grade, for a total of 80%.
The select barriers area contains the lowest scores, where we use specific indicators related to barriers to doing business (such as whether a jurisdiction allows wine to be shipped across provincial boundaries). Scores in this area indicate that significant barriers to internal trade remain. This part of the report card represents 20% of the overall grade.
| Jurisdiction | I. Total Exceptions to the CFTA in 2021 | II. Select Barriers to Internal Trade | III. Implementation Status of Reconcilliation Agreements | Overall Inter-Provincial/ Territorial Cooperation Score and Grade | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 10.0 | A | 4.2 | D- | 8.8 | A- | 8.3 | B |
| MB | 8.6 | B+ | 4.2 | D- | 9.5 | A | 8.1 | B |
| SK | 8.3 | B | 3.7 | F | 8.8 | A- | 7.5 | B- |
| NS | 6.2 | C- | 3.8 | F | 9.0 | A | 6.8 | C |
| BC | 7.6 | B- | 3.3 | F | 7.5 | B- | 6.7 | C |
| ON | 4.8 | D- | 5.0 | D- | 9.0 | A | 6.5 | C- |
| PEI | 5.2 | D | 1.7 | F | 6.3 | C- | 4.9 | D- |
| NT | 5.5 | D+ | 0.0 | F | 5.6 | D+ | 4.5 | D- |
| NU | 4.8 | D- | 0.0 | F | 5.6 | D+ | 4.2 | D- |
| NL | 4.8 | D- | 0.0 | F | 5.6 | D+ | 4.2 | D- |
| NB | 2.1 | F | 1.7 | F | 7.2 | C+ | 4.0 | D- |
| YT | 0.7 | F | 0.0 | F | 8.8 | A- | 3.8 | F |
| QC | 0.0 | F | 2.5 | F | 7.0 | C | 3.3 | F |
| FED3 | 2.1 | F | not scored | not scored | 7.2 | C+ | 4.6 | D- |
- Score: 10 is best, 0 is worst. Using a weighting scheme, the three subindex scores are combined into a single score that allows for a ranking of provincial governments from best (highest score) to worst (lowest score). The different areas are assigned the following weights: Total Exceptions to the CFTA in 2021─40%, Select Barriers to Internal Trade─20% and Implementation Status of Reconciliation Agreements─40%.
- Grade: A, A-: 8.7-10 (Excellent performance); B+, B, B-: 7.5-8.6 (Good performance); C+, C, C-: 6.1-7.4 (Satisfactory performance); D+, D, D-: 4-6.0 (Less than satisfactory performance); F: 0-3.9 (Unsatisfactory performance).
- The federal government is scored on two areas: the Total Exceptions to the CFTA in 2021 based on the number of procurement exceptions they maintain, and the Implementation Status of Reconciliation Agreements, both areas are weighted equally (50% each) as the select barriers area was not available for this analysis.
For details on how scores were calculated refer to the Methodology section in the Appendix B of the report.
Related Documents
| Release Date | Report | Download |
|---|---|---|
| June 2022 | The State of Internal Trade: Canada’s Interprovincial Cooperation Report Card | PDF (1.1 MB) |
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