New Brunswick premier proposes ‘free-trade zone’ in Atlantic Canada

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By The Staff The Canadian Press

Posted March 21, 2025 11:58 am

1 min read

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New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is proposing a free-trade zone for goods and services within Atlantic Canada to help the region withstand United States’ tariffs.

In a letter Thursday to the three other Atlantic premiers, Holt says she wants the East Coast to “work freely and seamlessly within one Atlantic market.”

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Holt is asking the other premiers — Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrew Furey and P.E.I.’s Rob Lantz — to commit to developing an agreement that would make Atlantic Canada a “free-trade” area.

She says the similar economies of the region would make an Atlantic free-trade deal easier and faster to put together compared to one that encompasses the entire country.

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But at least one premier is not sold on the idea.

Asked about Holt’s proposal on Thursday, Houston told reporters he preferred that Nova Scotia participate in Canada-wide free-trade deal as opposed to a regional one.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025.

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