April 15, 2020
Manitoba Officially Adopts New West Partnership Trade Agreement
– – –Proclamation of Legislative Provisions and Regulations to Adopt Agreement Will Expand Province's Trade Markets, Increase Business Opportunities and Create Jobs: Eichler
Manitoba has proclaimed the final legislative provisions and regulations necessary to officially adopt the New West Partnership Trade Agreement that will bring the province new and exciting opportunities for private-sector investment and job creation, Economic Development and Training Minister Ralph Eichler announced today.
“The adoption of this trade agreement with the three other western provinces brings Manitoba into a new and exciting era in positioning itself for economic growth,” said Eichler. “Our province will move forward and prosper through diversified markets for trade and the creation of quality jobs, while our participation in the agreement strengthens the economic potential of the four jurisdictions as a whole.”
Manitoba entered the New West Partnership with Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in 2016, creating an open and common trade market of more than 11 million people with a combined GDP of more than $750 billion. The Manitoba government cabinet’s new proclamation this week has brought into force provisions of the Business Names Registration Act, the Partnerships Act, the Corporations Act and the Cooperatives Act, as well as regulatory changes, to enable reciprocal registrations of businesses across the four provinces and an elimination of unnecessary and antiquated fees for them.
The New West Partnership Trade Agreement commits each of the four western provinces to enhance trade, investment and labour mobility, and to remove barriers to the movement of goods, services, investment and people within and between the jurisdictions. Manitoba companies and families will benefit from improved business opportunities through the partnership, which covers more than 30 per cent of Canada’s population.
“The potential through the New West Partnership for the creation of quality jobs is in step with our government’s Manitoba Works program, which aims to generate 40,000 new jobs in our province over the next four years,” said Eichler. “This trade agreement brings opportunities for new growth, and has long been called for by Manitoba business owners and chambers of commerce. It’s a chance for Manitoba to take advantage of its enormous potential with its resource wealth and its central location in Canada and North America.”
Manitoba’s entry to the New West Partnership, which was formed in 2010 by the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, strengthens and expands Canada’s largest, barrier-free interprovincial market. By adopting the agreement, Manitoba is strengthening its industries and positioning itself to prosper in the national economy while making families across the province safer and stronger.
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