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Ontario’s Throne Speech and Free Trade Legislation: Protecting and Growing Ontario’s Economy

April 17, 2025

Ontario’s Throne Speech and Free Trade Legislation: Protecting and Growing Ontario’s Economy

 

April 17, 2025 – Following their re-election in February, the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, led by Premier Doug Ford formally opened the 44th Parliament of Ontario earlier this week. Before getting to the much-anticipated Throne Speech, PC MPP for the Hamilton-area riding of Flamborough-Glanbrook Donna Skelly was chosen on Monday as the province’s first female Speaker of the House, a milestone she calls “remarkable, if not many years too late.” 

The Honourable Edith Dumont, Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor, delivered the province’s Speech from the Throne on Tuesday outlining the PC government’s goals for the new parliamentary session, including a determination to protect Ontario and to protect Canada, particularly from U.S. tariffs, no matter what. The speech highlighted many of the same themes as indicated in the PC Party’s election platform and Premier Ford’s swearing-in speech about fighting U.S. tariffs, protecting Ontario workers and businesses, building and removing barriers to infrastructure, and making life more affordable. The Throne Speech remarks concluded with a callout to health care, particularly investments in primary care, as well as hospital and long-term care infrastructure.

On Wednesday, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Honourable Vic Fedeli tabled government bill Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act aimed at unlocking free trade and labour mobility within Canada. The announcement included a commitment to consult on more as-of-right legislation for more regulated professions, removing party-specific exceptions in the Canada Free Trade Agreement, and introducing mutual recognition agreements with reciprocating provinces and territories. In an interview with CBC News, the Honourable Anita Anand, former federal Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, claimed removing internal barriers to trade could add up to $200 billion to the domestic economy, lower prices by up to 15%, and boost productivity by up to 7%, statistics the Ontario government has also referenced.

Minister of Finance, the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy will deliver a keynote speech and participate in a fireside chat in Toronto on Monday, May 12  to discuss the upcoming provincial budget. The 2025 Ontario Budget is anticipated to be tabled shortly afterwards and largely focus on the province’s ongoing response to protect and grow the Ontario and Canadian economies, the multi-year health commitments detailed in the previous provincial budget, and the commitments in the PC’s re-election platform, “Our Plan to Protect Ontario”.

 

Health Highlights in the Speech from the Throne 

  • States the government’s approach to safeguard Ontario’s economy is a plan to protect health care and the world-class health care system Ontario families depend upon, while also ensuring Ontarians will always be able to access health care services with their OHIP card, never their credit card. 
  • Indicates the Ontario government will continue to prioritize patients and their health above a “dogmatic ideology” that seeks to protect and preserve an outdated status quo as the government continues to make significant changes to the health care system. 
  • An ongoing commitment to connect every person in the province to a family doctor and primary care within the next four years through the province’s Primary Care Action Plan, led by Dr. Jane Philpott. 
  • A re-iteration of previous announcements to connect more people to health care through measures included in the 2024 Ontario Budget including optimizing the province’s health human resources and creating additional avenues for Ontarians to access health care services like new community and diagnostic surgical centres. 
  • To date, the province has transitioned nine drug injection sites near schools and daycares into recovery-oriented hubs, with another 19 expected to open in the near future. The Ontario government will re-introduce legislation to provide municipalities the enhanced tools they need to end encampments and clean up parks and public spaces.

 

The Protect Ontario Through Free Trade within Canada Act

As initially indicated in the Speech from the Throne, the Ontario government tabled the Protect Ontario Through Free Trade within Canada Act aimed at unlocking free trade and labour mobility within Canada. As part of this effort, Ontario is signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that will bolster interprovincial trade. These MOUs will support the reciprocal removal of barriers to trade between Ontario and Nova Scotia and Ontario and New Brunswick by advancing mutual recognition, such that a good, service or registered worker that is acceptable for sale, use or work in one province is acceptable in the other. 

 

Increasing Labour Mobility for Regulated Health Professions

Currently, four health professions from other Canadian provinces (nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and medical laboratory technologists) may practise in Ontario while they wait for registration in an Ontario health regulatory college and only in hospitals and long-term care homes. The measure when first introduced in 2023 was known as “as-of-right”. The government is proposing to build and expand on “as-of-right” for other regulated health professions, by promising consultation with the professions before introducing further legislation.

The bill also proposes the following additional measures to build on its previous 2023 actions:

  • Removing restrictions on where the four current professionals and future professions using Ontario’s “as-of-right” rules may practice so they may work closer to their patients in community clinics, laboratories and pharmacies.

  • Allowing American-licensed physicians and nurses to use Ontario’s “as-of-right” rules.

  • Automatically recognizing another Canadian jurisdiction’s nursing and physician registration as valid in Ontario. 

 The new legislation, if passed, would make further amendments to the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act and the Ontario Labour Mobility Act to help achieve these goals.

Additionally, the legislation proposes new service standards would be in place for all Ontario regulatory authorities, including a limit of 30 calendar days (previously 30 business days) to issue a decision regarding certification in Ontario, upon receipt of a complete application from a professional in another Canadian jurisdiction. The province would have additional powers to oversee the registration processes of Ontario’s regulatory authorities. The province will also consult with regulators on the implementation of the new service standards and the development of regulations and to implement “as-of-right” rules for regulated professions under the Ontario Labour Mobility Act.

 

How the Act Impacts Ontario’s Economy

The legislation also intends to create new opportunities for job creation and investment attraction, support economic integration across Canada and cut costly and unnecessary red tape to help protect and grow Ontario and Canada’s economies through the following measures:

  • Launching the new $50 million Ontario Together Trade Fund to help businesses make near-term investments so they can serve more interprovincial customers, develop new markets and re-shore critical supply chains, strengthening Ontario’s trade security and diversification. 
  • Enabling mutual recognition with reciprocating provinces and territories so that goods, services and registered workers that are “good enough” for other parts of Canada are recognized as good enough for sale, use or work in Ontario.
  • Becoming the first province in Canada to remove all its party-specific exceptions (PSEs) under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) without exception and encouraging other provinces and territories and the federal government to follow suit.
  • Enabling direct-to-consumer alcohol sales with reciprocating provinces and territories so that consumers will be able to purchase alcohol directly from producers across Canada for personal consumption.
  • Establishing a “Buy Ontario, Buy Canadian” day held annually on the last Friday in June to help consumers support local businesses and workers through programs such as Ontario Made, Ontario Wood, VQA and Foodland Ontario.

 

Opposition Remarks

  • On April 15, NDP Leader Marit Stiles responded to the Throne Speech by calling for significant investments in public services and infrastructure to strengthen Ontario. The NDP criticized the government’s approach, highlighting concerns over the lack of a proper plan. Stiles emphasized the need for better support for workers, families, and marginalized communities. Additionally, the NDP caucus has launched a new Advisory Council on Tariff Response and Economic Security, and a caucus Working Group on Critical Minerals and the Ring of Fire. 
  • During an interview, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also noted the lack of health care talk and said there wasn’t enough “for those facing the affordability crisis” and “people who are losing their jobs.” She also outlined the same issues that existed before U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidency, and that the Ford government needs to focus on improving funding and accessibility of health care, education, and housing for Ontarians.
  • Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Greens, released a statement expressing concern over the speech, criticizing it for lacking a real plan to protect Ontario from U.S. tariff threats and failing to address key issues. While open to collaboration, the Green Party condemned the Ford government’s focus on costly infrastructure projects like tunnels and pipelines, arguing that such spending won’t improve affordability.

 

Further Reading

Read the Speech from the Throne here.

Read the press release for the Protect Ontario through Free Trade within Canada Act here.

Read Bill 2, Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act here.

Read Santis Health’s Rapid Recap on the 2024 Ontario Budget here.

Register for Minister Bethlenfalvy’s keynote speech and fireside chat here.