Memorandum of Understanding Between: The Government of Ontario and The Government of British Columbia (hereinafter jointly referred to as “the Parties”)

Whereas the Canadian economy is currently subject to economic and geopolitical uncertainty, including various tariffs and tariff threats by the United States on Canadian products, which threaten Canadian workers and businesses;

And whereas the Parties are committed to significantly expanding the ability of workers and businesses within their respective jurisdictions to take advantage of commercial opportunities across Canada, and in doing so strengthen Canada’s economy;

And whereas the Parties trust federal, provincial and territorial regulatory bodies to make sound decisions that put the safety of Canadians first;

And whereas the Parties are demonstrating leadership by introducing enabling legislation to significantly reduce regulatory barriers to trade with other provinces and territories, and entering into unilateral and reciprocal mutual recognition arrangements;

And whereas Ontario has been a leader in expanding opportunities for registered workers from other Canadian jurisdictions to work in Ontario, including through its “As of Right” model;

And whereas Ontario has demonstrated leadership on internal trade with respect to the removal of all its Party-specific Exceptions (PSEs) under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), supporting opportunities for trade and investment;

And whereas British Columbia is leading work across the federation to advance the work on mutual recognition through the CFTA’s Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT).

Through this Memorandum of Understanding, the Parties agree to:

  1. Build on their respective enabling legislation (i.e. British Columbia’s Economic Stabilization (Tariff Response) Act (Bill 7) and Ontario’s Ontario Free Trade and Mobility Act), to remove internal trade barriers between them and within Canada, so as to boost the flow of goods, services, investment, and workers, while maintaining and strengthening levels of public safety. Through mutual recognition, the Parties will strive to ensure that a like good, service or occupation that is deemed acceptable for sale, use or work in Ontario, is deemed acceptable for sale, use or work in British Columbia – and vice versa.
  2. Encourage other Canadian jurisdictions that have not already done so to join British Columbia and Ontario in driving progress on internal trade by tabling their own legislation to remove regulatory and other barriers to trade across Canada, including through mutual recognition.
  3. Further facilitate interprovincial labour mobility by working together to identify options to further align regulated occupations and registration.
  4. Work together on a bilateral framework for a direct-to-consumer (DTC) system, as well aswith all other interested Canadian jurisdictions to establish a pan-Canadian framework for DTC access to alcoholic beverages, so that producers have easier access to market opportunities across the country, and so that consumers across Canada have greater choice and access to a broader selection of alcoholic beverages.
  5. Work together to advance bilateral, plurilateral or multilateral mutual recognition of the sale and use of goods and services.
  6. This Memorandum of Understanding sets out the understanding of the Parties with respect to their cooperation but is not legally binding and does not create any legal, equitable or financial rights, obligations or liabilities for either of the Parties.

Signed at Huntsville, Ontario, this 21st day of July, 2025

Premier Doug Ford, Government of Ontario

Premier David Eby, Government of British Columbia