Interprovincial free trade a ‘Trojan Horse for deregulation’: labour leaders

Premier Susan Holt has made interprovincial trade liberalization a key plank in her response to the U.S. trade war, but union leaders warn that it could wipe out gains in areas such as workplace health and safety.

“Workers could lose hard-won rights and benefits if provinces mutually agree to recognize each other’s standards and move to the lowest level of standards,” the NB Federation of Labour said in a statement. “We must ensure that moving between provinces doesn’t mean losing out on safety, pay, or working conditions.”

The federation is calling on the province to create working groups that include representatives from labour, Indigenous communities and business.

Internal free trade ‘at best a distraction’

Senior officials from the Canadian labour movement have warned that internal trade liberalization is driven by business interests that don’t align with those of workers. 

“The whole program of internal trade liberalization is, at best, a distraction from what’s urgently needed right now,” said Chris Roberts, national director of the Social and Economic Policy Department at the Canadian Labour Congress. “At worst, it undermines good jobs.” 

He made the comments during a webinar on Thursday examining the tariff crisis and its effects on the Atlantic region. 

The event was hosted by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-NS and the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. It featured a roundtable with Unifor national president Lana Payne and Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour president Jessica McCormick. 

“We can’t allow [interprovincial free trade] to be a Trojan Horse for deregulation and weakening protections that unions have long fought for on behalf of our members,” McCormick said. “Nor can we allow those corporations to roll back the progress we’ve made at the bargaining table.”

Response from provincial government

On Thursday, the Premier tried to dispel those concerns and said she would discuss the matter with labour leaders.

“We absolutely agree with labour that we don’t want to erase progress, we want to ensure that we’re continuing to improve standards,” she told reporters, in response to a query from the NB Media Co-op.

“If we learn of practices that are better and stronger in other provinces, then this opportunity for labour mobility gives us the chance to all come up to some of the highest standards that we see in the country,” Holt said.

“I’d certainly be interested in absolutely having those conversations with labour leaders,” she said.

On Thursday, a government spokesperson also issued a statement attributed to Jean-Claude D’Amours, Acting Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.

The statement defended Bill 14, saying the labour mobility legislation is meant to “ensure that skilled workers can more easily enter the New Brunswick workforce without unnecessary obstacles.”

The statement added, in part, that “to ensure New Brunswick standards continue to be respected, we have not removed the Regulatory Bodies from the process.” The bill passed third reading in the legislature on Wednesday. 

Holt called for Atlantic ‘free trade area’

Internal trade liberalization has emerged as a major plank in the economic strategy of Canadian political leaders in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

In March, Holt announced that her Liberal government would review “internal trade barriers” as part of its response to U.S. tariffs. Since then, Holt has called for a “free trade area” in the Atlantic region. 

The province has touted legislative amendments liberalizing alcohol sales and increasing interprovincial labour mobility, while signing free trade memoranda of agreement with Ontario and Newfoundland.

“We want to create as much opportunity as possible for our businesses to thrive in new markets, both within New Brunswick and across Canada,” said Holt — formerly head of the NB Business Council — in a statement announcing the MOU with Ontario.

Ottawa has also said that it will remove a number of internal trade barriers. 

Trade war ‘the fight of our lives’: Unifor president

During last week’s roundtable, labour leaders agreed that the current juncture may represent an opportunity for Canadian workers and their allies to push for progressive reforms and investment in infrastructure and public services. 

The most pressing challenge is to build a united movement that can make governments embrace such a program.  “We have described this as the fight of our lives, because it is,” said Payne, who is president of Canada’s largest private-sector union.

“We have already seen job losses across the country,” she said. “We have seen lost investment. We have seen shelved investment. This is very, very dangerous for the future economy. It’s very dangerous for the manufacturing sector. And Donald Trump has been very clear. He’s coming for our jobs.”

This story was updated at 6 p.m. on May 15, 2025 to include a response from Premier Susan Holt and Jean-Claude D’Amours, Acting Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.

David Gordon Koch is a staff reporter with the NB Media Co-op. Jeff Bate Boerop is a volunteer member who produces and translates content for the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).