File photo of a provincial border marker in Lloydminster. (Michele Gervais/iStock/Getty Images)

Borderline city hosts interprovincial food trade pilot

Trade barrier on pause for two years for food businesses serving Lloydminster

The idea of loosening interprovincial trade in certain foods made by provincially-inspected processors will get a major test in one of Canada’s very few province-crossing municipalities. The Saskatchewan, Alberta and federal governments on Jan. 19 announced the start of a two-year pilot project within the limits of Lloydminster, a city of over 31,000 people straddling


In Canada, about $350 million to $400 million worth of alcohol was sold online in 2020, up 75 per cent from the previous year.

Comment: Can we ‘free the beer,’ online?

Many alcohol products that have won international acclaim, ironically, can't be sold to most Canadians

Interprovincial alcohol distribution in Canada has always been a nightmare. In fact, for our wineries, breweries, and spirit makers, selling alcohol to Americans is easier than selling to consumers outside their own province. Many Canadian alcoholic products like wines, beers, and spirits that have won international prestigious awards cannot be sold to most Canadians. It

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Alberta to lift residency rule for public grazing lands

The Alberta government plans to remove a restriction on non-Albertans’ use of public lands for grazing, in a bid to smooth out paths for interprovincial trade. The province on Saturday announced it will do away with eight of its declared exceptions under the interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Of the eight, three deal with


Comeau: A measly $292.50 that could have changed it all

Comeau: A measly $292.50 that could have changed it all

Interprovincial trade will remain hidebound to internal protectionism, thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling

The recent Supreme Court ruling on interprovincial trade barriers is a significant loss for consumers and our Canadian economy, but a great win for inertia. The Comeau case was never just about beer. It was essentially about enabling our domestic economy across the country to thrive. For the agri-food sector, the decision would have had



Editorial: A case of beer

For all the ink and vitriol that’s been spilled over supply management in Canadian agricultural commodities over the years, not much has changed. There’s been a bit of evolution around the edges and some grudging concession on imports, but the fundamental bedrock of the system remains. Now an earthquake could be coming, from the most