OntarioBill 2Royal Assent
Bill 2: Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act, 2025
Sponsor: Fedeli, Hon. Victor Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and TradeIntroduced April 16, 2025Last checked August 28, 2026
Read the official text on ola.orgOfficial version — Legislative Assembly of Ontario
What this bill does
This Ontario bill removes interprovincial trade barriers by establishing mutual recognition of goods standards and professional credentials between Ontario and reciprocating Canadian provinces/territories, speeds up labour mobility for out-of-province certified workers, enables direct-to-consumer interprovincial alcohol sales, and proclaims the last Friday of June as Buy Ontario, Buy Canadian Day.
Plain-language summary by Legisail.
Business impact
EmploymentCompliance
This bill broadly affects Ontario businesses in regulated industries — manufacturers, producers, and sellers of goods who currently face Ontario-specific testing, certification, or labelling requirements may see out-of-province competitors enter the market more easily, since products approved in a reciprocating province will be treated as meeting Ontario standards. Wineries, breweries, and distilleries across Canada benefit from new direct-to-consumer interprovincial sales frameworks, opening up shipping and online sales to customers in other provinces. Licensed professionals and skilled tradespeople — such as electricians, plumbers, engineers, nurses, and other regulated occupations — operating in Ontario will face increased competition as out-of-province workers gain faster and easier certification, including a new six-month deemed certification that lets them start working almost immediately. Ontario regulatory bodies and professional associations face new compliance obligations around processing timelines, reporting, and publishing requirements, regardless of their size.
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Where this bill is
First ReadingApril 16, 2025
Second ReadingMay 29, 2025
CommitteeMay 29, 2025
Third ReadingJune 3, 2025
Royal AssentJune 5, 2025
Now law — awaiting coming into force
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