Canada’s Constitution is rooted in an economic vision that emphasizes property rights, decentralized decision-making, and free trade. 

Unfortunately, it has never been fully realized. Canada today is burdened by stagnation and low productivity. We are losing billions of dollars of revenue thanks to interprovincial trade barriers. Meanwhile, a lack of local and regional autonomy creates a culture of dependence that kills both innovation and aspiration.

In a special panel discussion moderated by Peter Copeland, Domestic Policy at MLI, Malcolm Lavoie, Alberta’s deputy minister of Justice and author of Trade and Commerce: Canada’s Economic Constitution, joined economists Jack Mintz and Tim Sargent, and law professor Mark Mancini to explore the legal and economic aspects of this challenge for Canada. Together, they identify the practical steps, considerations, and trade-offs required to advance this constitutional vision. 

They argue that Canadians will benefit if courts and policy-makers pursue legislative changes and a constitutional interpretation that better recognizes and enforces these economic principles.