Message From Tony
One of Canada’s strongest trading partners is … Canada. Last year, more than $530 billion worth of goods and services moved across provincial and territorial borders, representing almost 20% of Canada’s gross domestic product.
The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) is an intergovernmental trade agreement signed by Canadian ministers representing the federal government and all 13 provinces and territories (PTs). The objective of the CFTA is to reduce and eliminate, to the extent possible, barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, services, and investments within Canada and to establish an open, efficient, and stable domestic market.
The Agreement commits provincial, territorial, and federal (FPT) governments to a comprehensive set of rules that will help to achieve a modern and competitive economic union for all Canadians.
Importantly, the CFTA preserves the ability of FPT governments to adopt and apply their own laws and regulations for economic activity in the public interest to achieve public policy objectives. Such objectives include the protection of public health, social services, safety, consumer protection, the promotion and protection of cultural diversity and workers’ rights.
The CFTA rules apply automatically to almost all areas of economic activity in Canada, with any exceptions being clearly identified.
The removal of these federal exceptions from the CFTA is yet another step towards eliminating barriers to internal trade, reducing costs for Canadian businesses, increasing productivity and foreign investment, and potentially adding billions to the Canadian economy.
Last week, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, announced the upcoming removal of an additional 20 federal exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), reducing the number of federal exceptions from 39 to 19. The majority of exceptions removed relate to government procurement, providing Canadian businesses greater opportunity to compete across the country.
This action builds on the federal government’s demonstrated leadership in strengthening commitments under the CFTA. In July 2024, the Government of Canada announced the removal or narrowing of 17 of its CFTA exceptions. Together, these successive reviews represent the removal of 64% of the Government of Canada’s exceptions in the Agreement since it launched in 2017.
The removal of these barriers comes at a critical time, as Canada positions our domestic economy to respond to the threat of tariffs from the United States.
It’s more important than ever that we work together at all levels – federal, provincial, territorial – to reduce the burden on businesses in Canada. That’s why the Government of Canada is encouraging all provinces and territories to take similar steps to reduce their own exceptions under the CFTA.
The Government of Canada will continue to build on these successes and collaborate with provinces and territories to accelerate efforts to enhance internal trade and labour mobility across the country.
Canada is getting high-speed rail
The Toronto-Quebec City corridor is a megaregion. It’s home to 18 million people, 40 per cent of our GDP, over 700,000 students, and more than 30 colleges and universities. This dynamic hub needs a transportation system that gets people from city to city, in the fastest time possible.
This transformative rail network will span approximately 1,000 km and reach speeds of up to 300 km/hour, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City. Once operational, current travel times will be slashed in half – getting you from Montréal to Toronto in three hours. The official name of this high-speed rail service will be Alto.
A country that believes in itself invests in its people and infrastructure. As Canada’s largest ever infrastructure project, high-speed rail will turbocharge the Canadian economy – boosting GDP by up to $35 billion annually, creating over 51,000 good-paying jobs during construction, and unlocking enhanced productivity for decades to come. By connecting economic hubs at rapid speed, businesses will have more markets to sell to and workers will have more job opportunities. Electrified, high-speed rail will also help Canada reduce its emissions and meet its climate targets. By giving travelers an efficient and reliable option to get around, we will save Canadians time when they travel, boost tourism, connect communities, and spur affordable housing development across the region.
Celebrating Ramadan in Newmarket-Aurora
This Friday, at sundown, Muslim communities in Canada and around the world will mark the beginning of Ramadan. Ramadan honours the values of compassion, gratitude, and family. Loved ones will gather over the coming weeks to pray and give back to others through kindness and generosity. At sundown each day, they will gather for iftar — the traditional meal shared after a long day of fasting.
We also take this opportunity to recognize the invaluable contributions that Muslim Canadians have made and continue to make to our country. Their commitment to social justice, education, economic prosperity, and research is a source of inspiration for all Canadians.
We all have a commitment and duty to stand up against hatred wherever and whenever we see it. Islamophobia, and all forms of hatred and discrimination, have no place in Canada. Everyone should feel safe, no matter how they pray or where they worship.
To all those celebrating, I wish you a blessed and peaceful Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!
Strengthening official language education across Canada
Canada is proud of its bilingual status and continues to invest to support education in both official languages. By working in collaboration with provinces and territories, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring Canadians in minority language communities across the country can study, develop and live in their official language of their choice.
Last week, we announced the ratification of the new Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction for the period from 2024 to 2028. As part of this collaboration agreement, the federal government is investing more than $1.4 billion to support minority-language education and second-language instruction. The Protocol also includes funds dedicated to the recruitment and retention of teachers and to post-secondary education in the minority language.
The Protocol establishes the principles of collaboration between the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments and provides a framework for bilateral agreements. Canadian Heritage has begun the process of negotiating bilateral agreements with the provincial and territorial governments.
