Halifax, January 29, 2025 – Nova Scotia has secured the second highest overall grade in the country, an "A-”, in the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s 15th annual Red Tape Report Card released today during Red Tape Awareness WeekTM.
Nova Scotia receives “full marks” under the political priority indicator by demonstrating that red tape reduction has been priority for the Premier and Cabinet over the past year. The province also scores high under the regulatory accountability indicator, thanks to the work done by province’s Office of Service Efficiency.
“For 16 years, CFIB has been holding governments accountable to measuring and reducing their regulatory burdens. While Nova Scotia has the right frameworks in place, red tape reduction needs to see a renewed focus in the year ahead,” said Duncan Robertson, Director of Legislative Affairs for Nova Scotia at CFIB and report card co-author. “Red tape reduction is the key to boosting Nova Scotian business productivity and will give Nova Scotia’s entrepreneurs back the time and resources they need to grow our economy.”
The 2025 Red Tape Report Card grades:
|
Jurisdiction |
Regulatory accountability (40%) |
Regulatory burden (40%) |
Political priority (20%) |
Housing initiatives (Bonus 2%) |
Overall score |
||||
|
Alberta |
8.9 |
A- |
9.3 |
A |
10 |
A |
10 |
9.5 |
A |
|
Nova Scotia |
8.8 |
A- |
8.1 |
B |
10 |
A |
10 |
8.9 |
A- |
|
Ontario |
8.9 |
A- |
7.9 |
B |
10 |
A |
10 |
8.9 |
A- |
|
British Columbia |
8.9 |
A- |
8.9 |
A- |
5.5 |
D |
10 |
8.4 |
B+ |
|
Quebec |
8.8 |
A- |
6.7 |
C |
9.5 |
A |
10 |
8.3 |
B+ |
|
Saskatchewan |
8.0 |
B |
8.0 |
B |
6.0 |
C- |
0 |
7.6 |
B- |
|
Federal |
6.6 |
C |
7.0 |
C |
6.5 |
C- |
10 |
7.0 |
C |
|
Prince Edward Island |
5.8 |
D |
6.5 |
C- |
6.5 |
C- |
10 |
6.4 |
C- |
|
Manitoba |
1.8 |
F |
8.8 |
A- |
2.0 |
F |
5 |
4.7 |
F |
|
Newfoundland and Labrador |
3.0 |
F |
5.5 |
D |
6.5 |
C- |
0 |
4.7 |
F |
|
New Brunswick* |
5.6 |
D |
6.0 |
C- |
NA |
NA |
5 |
NA |
NA |
*Due to a change in government in New Brunswick in October 2024, CFIB has assigned the province a status of “NA” (Not applicable) in lieu of a grade in the political priority section. As a result, the province is also marked as “NA” for the overall grade in this year’s report card, acknowledging the transition to a new government. We will resume grading New Brunswick in all categories in our 2026 report card.
The 2025 Red Tape Report Card grades governments in three major areas of regulatory performance:
This year’s report card also has a bonus indicator based on government housing initiatives.
“Nova Scotia continues to punch above its weight with its continued leadership and remains the standard for red tape reduction in Atlantic Canada. With initiatives such as the business navigator program and measuring the administrative burden faced by physicians, Nova Scotia has shown a clear commitment to save businesses and residents valuable time and money by addressing red tape,” said Robertson.
“While Nova Scotia has shown great progress since the first Red Tape Report Card in 2010, there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to addressing inter-provincial trade barriers. Particularly with threats of tariffs south of the border, eliminating interprovincial trade barriers through mutual recognition would be a way to cut red tape and mitigate the impact a 25% tariff would have on our economy,” Robertson concluded.
To learn more visit: cfib.ca/redtape.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Duncan Robertson
Director, Legislative Affairs (Nova Scotia)
(902) 580-4538
Duncan.Robertson@CFIB.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region and 4,200 in Nova Scotia. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.