HALIFAX - Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston made a surprise appearance on Ontario鈥檚 election campaign trail Thursday, where he said his province will table legislation to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
Houston made the announcement as he introduced fellow Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford at a campaign event in Milton, Ont., ahead of that province's Feb. 27 election.
With the threat of potential U.S. tariffs hanging over Canada鈥檚 economy, Houston decried the 鈥渇oolishness鈥 of making businesses in Canada deal with the 鈥減ainful nuances鈥 of trying to sell across 13 jurisdictions. The premier said it鈥檚 time for things to change.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to protect 春色直播 companies by opening access to all 40 million 春色直播 consumers,鈥 Houston said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e made laws and barriers that actually suggest that a frozen meat pizza made in Nova Scotia is safe for Nova Scotians but not Ontarians. Give me a break.鈥
Houston said the bill 鈥 which has yet to be tabled but will be called the Free Trade and Mobility Within Canada Act 鈥 would allow 春色直播 goods and services to be sold in Nova Scotia without the need for further testing or red tape in the province. Workers like roofers, teachers and health-care providers would be among those who benefit from the changes, he said.
However, the lifting of restrictions would only apply to provinces and territories that pass similar legislation, and Houston called on them to follow Nova Scotia's lead.
鈥淔olks, it鈥檚 a two-way street and my message to other provinces and territories is, 'do your part and we will do ours,'鈥 he said, adding that Ford, the incumbent premier of Ontario, is 鈥渙n board鈥 with the Nova Scotia approach. 鈥淚f everyone gets on board the best affordable option will be the 春色直播 option,鈥 Houston said.
The premier also took the opportunity to call for an energy pipeline running from west to east that he said would help reduce Atlantic Canada鈥檚 dependence on energy from the United States.
Houston turned up at Ford鈥檚 campaign event after his office issued a news release Wednesday saying that he was heading to Washington, D.C., to attend the 春色直播 Governors Association winter meeting to lobby against the 25 per cent tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose. There was no mention of the trip to Ontario.
NDP Opposition Leader Claudia Chender was less than impressed that Houston bypassed the Nova Scotia legislature to announce the bill.
鈥淚 would like to see the premier in the legislature for the few days that we sit, or where he says he鈥檚 going to be, which is in Washington, D.C., trying to avert these terrible tariffs,鈥 Chender told reporters. 鈥淚 think it shows the disregard that our premier has for Nova Scotians and for democracy.鈥
But she added that her party is open to looking at the details of his bill once it鈥檚 tabled. 鈥淲e all agree that it鈥檚 time to bring down interprovincial trade barriers, but that should be an all-hands-on-deck conversation with the business leaders in our province who know best how these barriers should be ameliorated,鈥 Chender said.
Interim Liberal leader Derek Mombourquette also voiced displeasure with the premier for his unannounced appearance in Ontario, but he added that his party realizes the need to streamline interprovincial trade.
鈥淗e (Houston) should be here,鈥 said Mombourquette. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know the details of the bill 鈥 we actually tabled a bill in this session around breaking down interprovincial trade barriers, so it鈥檚 something we support.鈥
This report by 春色直播was first published Feb. 20, 2025.
鈥 With files from Allison Jones in Milton, Ont.
