SME World | Exporting to Canada… not so easy!

For a Quebec SME wishing to export its goods or services, starting with the provinces and territories of Canada rather than other countries seems to be the logical path to follow. However, several obstacles can make this path arduous.

Anie Rouleau, founder and owner of Montreal-based The Unscented Company, is lucky. When the time came to export its body and household products to the country, there were few obstacles along the way. “The government greatly values ​​outside Quebec. A small business like mine has access to funding and grants to help and make things easier,” she reveals.

Exporting is not free of charge or without paperwork, but the entrepreneur has only good words for interprovincial exporting.

However, this fairy tale is not the same for all entrepreneurs. In fact, some business sectors come up against obstacles that make interprovincial exporting difficult, if not impossible. “In agriculture, it’s difficult because you have federal and provincial regulations. For alcoholic products it is also difficult, because all the provincial regulations are different, in addition to the monopolies in the provinces”, explains Jasmin Guénette, vice-president of national affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). .

Sommelier and entrepreneur Jessica Harnois corroborates this information. No, it’s not easy to export your line of Bù wines to Canada. “You have to follow a process that is specific to each province and several rules differ. Sometimes you have to bottle on site or directly in the country of origin,” she explains.

If she managed to overcome all the obstacles for the Atlantic region, she still has some provinces to conquer. “In Ontario, LCBO buyers may have to tender before listing a product. You have to submit samples for tasting to hope to be selected. Same thing in British Columbia with the BC Liquor Stores. It is different in Alberta because they are independents, the government is not involved. »

Towards mutual recognition

Despite the entry into force of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) in July 2017, many obstacles still hinder interprovincial trade. According to Jasmin Guénette, we should promote the growth of our internal trade by adopting a policy of mutual recognition. “If a product is safe to be sold in one province, it should be possible to sell that product in the other provinces of the country without making other modifications to the product or without being subject to other regulations”, claims- he.

This mutual recognition policy would allow many cheese producers, microbreweries, microdistilleries and other small and medium-sized businesses in the agri-food sector to distribute their products more easily across the country. Jasmin Guénette points out that this policy would also facilitate labor mobility because diplomas and experience would be recognized from one province to another. “All that’s missing is political leadership,” he says.