Restoring the economic vision of Canada’s constitution

Canada’s Constitution rests on an implicit economic vision – one grounded in property rights, decentralized decision-making, and the free movement of goods, services, labour, and capital across the country.

Though not explicitly articulated in the constitutional text, this vision is embedded in its architecture:  federalism, subsidiarity, and the commitment to economic union. Over time, however, that underlying logic has been obscured by regulatory fragmentation, interprovincial barriers, and institutional inertia.

Building on three recent Macdonald-Laurier Institute papers – on mutual recognition, property rights, and the creation of a new agency to facilitate internal trade – this project moves from theory to practice. MLI will develop concrete legislative drafting instructions to translate these ideas into actionable, ready-to-adopt policy.

Canada’s current political moment has renewed attention to issues long relegated to the margins: persistent internal trade barriers and the unrealized economic promise embedded in our constitutional framework. The time for endless diagnosis is over. We need practical proposals capable of turning that promise into reality.