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This article was originally published in on April 28, 2026

The federal government’s announcement on April 21 of the creation of a second Domestic Trade Commissioners Network is long overdue. It is good news of real, meaningful, concrete action on an internal trade file filled with aspirational talk.

But it’s not enough. Alberta needs to follow Quebec and now Ottawa, and create its own domestic trade service.

With prospects for easier access to American markets growing dimmer by the day, Canadian companies desperately need better access to the easiest, safest market available.

That market isn’t in Asia. It’s here in Canada.

Governments and academics have focused exclusively on reducing the legal and regulatory barriers to moving goods and people between provinces. This is necessary, but far from sufficient.

For more than a decade, we at the Canada West Foundation argued that lowering barriers helps companies already trading in Canada. It does little for companies that lack knowledge of distant domestic markets — and most interprovincial trade in Canada is a distant market.

Think of it this way: when Canada signs a trade deal to reduce barriers with a foreign market, it doesn’t stop there. Federal and provincial governments deploy resources to help companies find opportunities, meet potential customers and grow in the new market. The same logic applies here.

Removing barriers is not the same as leading firms to distant, new opportunities.

Consider a small company in Lethbridge that exports to customers in Montana and Idaho — a day’s drive away. How does that company find opportunities in Trois-Rivières or Trois-Pistoles, Que., let alone know the difference between the two?

For Quebec companies, the answer is simple — call the Quebec trade office in ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù. For Ontario opportunities, call the Quebec trade office in Toronto. For defence procurement, call the Quebec defence specialist in Ottawa.

Quebec has done the hard institutional work to invest in a domestic trade commissioner service, and as a result is arguably the only province structurally prepared to benefit from free trade within Canada.

Ottawa has now picked up this idea, launching a Domestic Trade Commissioners Network. Alberta needs to follow.

The case is intuitive to anyone who knows how Alberta handles international trade. The Alberta government supplements federal trade commissioners in foreign embassies to ensure Alberta exporters get specialized attention and aren’t lost in the queue — especially for sectors that matter to the province but rank low on Ottawa’s priority list.

The same logic applies to the new liberalized landscape of domestic trade. An Alberta company competing for contracts in Ontario or Atlantic Canada needs someone in its corner who knows Alberta’s industries.

Deeper analysis would be needed to determine how many domestic offices to stand up and where. If Quebec is any indication, three or four strategically placed offices beyond Ottawa would suffice.

Given the significant rise in federal defence spending, matching Quebec with an Alberta defence procurement specialist in the Ottawa office is a no-brainer. These offices will be considerably cheaper to staff and operate than foreign postings, which helps make the fiscal case.

Alberta is already leading on internal trade liberalization — the MOU with Ontario, the New West Partnership and the push on mutual recognition. That work opens doors. But open doors don’t sell themselves. If Alberta wants its businesses to actually benefit from free trade within Canada, it needs to put feet on the ground.

Quebec figured that out decades ago. Ottawa has finally caught up.

Now it’s Alberta’s turn.

Carlo Dade is director of International Policy and the New North America Initiative at the School of Public Policy, University of ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù.