March 24, 2026

The Honourable Susan Holt
Premier of New Brunswick
Office of the Premier
570 Queen Street, Unit E104
Fredericton NB, E3B 6Z6

The Honourable Tim Houston
Premier of Nova Scotia
Office of the Premier
1726 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS, B3J 2Y3

Subject: Achieving an Atlantic Free Trade Zone
 
Dear Premiers Holt and Houston:

On behalf of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, 94 members forming a powerful collective voice for over 16,000 businesses across the four Atlantic provinces, I am writing to express concern over recent decisions that risk undermining the economic integration our region strives to achieve. In Budget 2026-2027, the Government of New Brunswick announced a new toll for out-of-province vehicles at Aulac by 2028. Combined with Nova Scotia’s continued operation of the Cobequid Pass toll on the Trans-Canada Highway, these measures send the wrong message at the wrong time.

The international economy remains profoundly volatile. Ongoing tariffs, supply-chain disruptions, and shifting global trade patterns continue to threaten industries across Atlantic Canada. In response to these external pressures, both of you have demonstrated clear and commendable leadership by championing free trade within Canada.

Premier Holt, you have made the removal of interprovincial trade barriers a cornerstone of New Brunswick’s response to U.S. tariffs, calling for an Atlantic free-trade area and aggressively pursuing labour mobility and regulatory alignment. Premier Houston, under your leadership Nova Scotia has tabled landmark legislation to eliminate internal trade barriers, to reduce red tape, and open new opportunities for Nova Scotia businesses. Your shared vision of a seamless, barrier free Canadian economy and free market principles has been the kind of forward-thinking leadership that our region and our country needs.

Yet tolls at provincial borders directly contradict that vision. The proposed Aulac toll which targets vehicles entering from Nova Scotia, and the Cobequid Pass, which continues to charge out-of-province traffic, function barriers to the free movement of people, goods, and commerce. We live in an era that calls us to diversify markets and strengthen supply chains, not create or maintain counterproductive financial hurdles between our provinces.

These measures raise costs for businesses, commuters, and truckers who move daily across our region; they discourage investment; and they erode the very economic resilience we are working so hard to build.

The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce has been an advocate for the removal of all unnecessary interprovincial barriers as we believe in building an Atlantic Canadian economy that is unified Atlantic and can weather global storms. We urge both governments to eliminate tolls for interprovincial traffic. Working together, your governments can lead by example and show the rest of Canada that Atlantic premiers are not only talking about free trade but delivering it.

Atlantic Canada’s businesses and workers are counting on continued leadership that prioritizes unity over division. We are confident that, together, you will choose to tear down barriers rather than build them.

Thank you for your time and ongoing commitment to our region’s prosperity.


Sincerely,

Rhonda Tulk-Lane
President & CEO