The federal government is launching a sweeping review of regulatory red tape in a move aimed at streamlining government operations and unlocking more private investment in Canada’s economy.
Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali announced Tuesday that all federal departments and agencies with regulatory responsibilities will begin reviewing existing rules in their portfolios, with the goal of eliminating outdated, duplicative, or overly complex regulations.
“Regulations play a key role in protecting the health and safety of Canadians—but to stay effective, they must be regularly reviewed,” Ali said. “Cutting unnecessary red tape is essential to unlocking Canada’s full economic potential.”
The review is part of the Liberal government’s broader fiscal agenda, which Prime Minister Mark Carney says is focused on spending less while investing more in productive growth.
“Canada’s new government has a mandate to spend less and invest more,” Carney said in a statement. “To that end, we will remove red tape by eliminating outdated regulation. It’s time to make government more efficient, make its processes more effective, and to catalyze more private capital so we can build the strongest economy in the G7.”
The new Red Tape Reduction Office, created to oversee the initiative, will track progress as ministers report back within 60 days on efforts underway in their respective departments.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) estimates that regulation from all levels of government cost Canadian businesses $51.5 billion in 2024, with roughly $17.9 billion attributed to red tape. On average, businesses spent 735 hours—equivalent to 92 days—dealing with regulatory compliance last year, 32 days of which were spent on red tape alone.
Under the Red Tape Reduction Act and the federal “1-for-1” rule, regulators must offset new administrative burdens on businesses by repealing an equivalent existing burden within two years. The government says $26 million in annual net administrative burden was removed in the 2023–24 fiscal year, contributing to a total reduction of $82 million since 2012–13.
Additionally, 22 more regulations were repealed than added over the past year, resulting in a net reduction of 238 regulations since the initiative began.
