A trade expert says the federal government “absolutely” needs to take a strong role in increasing internal trade.

Conversations around breaking down trade barriers between provinces took off in recent weeks thanks to the threat of tariffs from the United States.

Ryan Manucha, who works with the CD Howe Institute, calls internal trade a “collective action problem.”

He says if the cost of a tariff because of a trade barrier is $10, but the cost to the country as a whole is $100, the federal government has a “far stronger incentive to see that get taken care of than Ontario….because Ontario is only focused on its local costs.”

Manucha says that while a national body needs to step in, the provinces have a role to play.

He says Australia encountered the same situation in the 90s, and New South Wales had to take the lead. He says the provinces can’t just rely on the feds, and leadership will be needed from places like Ontario and Quebec to make things happen, such as an east-west energy pipeline. “If there are certain things we are not going to give away to the Americans…we’ve got to make concessions for our fellow country people.”