Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Patty Hughes encouraged local residents to support Canadian businesses after the United States officially imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on Monday.
The Canadian government responded with 25 per cent tariffs on a variety of goods, such as orange juice, wine, spirits, coffee, and certain pulp and paper products, among others. Those tariffs came into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.
In Prince Albert, Chamber CEO Patty Hughes said the American tariffs were a deep concern, even though the impact would be far worse in other parts of Canada.
“It’s very concerning for businesses, but also for the consumer as we faced increased costs for our vehicles, food, buildings, that kind of stuff that happens. I think we’re really going to see an economic impact as we take a look at where our supply chains are coming from too,” Hughes said.
“As a country we need to really take a look at what can we do, and what can we as consumers do. We’ve seen it, right. I’m even seeing the marketing change as I’m watching various programs and stuff like that about many companies are out there saying, boldly ‘we are Canadian’ and ‘buy us’. As always, I encourage everybody to support local.”
Hughes said some businesses in the Prince Albert area anticipated the tariffs and stocked up on US goods or resources before the tariffs hit.
Hughes said the last time Trump was in office, this was something that the country dealt with, and so it was anticipated that it was going to happen again. Still, she said some of those businesses will face a new challenge: finding enough storage space.
Hughes said the tariffs threaten jobs, disrupt supply chains, and undermine strong economic ties that both countries have really benefited from for many years. She said it was a “golden egg” for both countries, and it’s being squandered.
“There’s no doubt about it, economists on both side of the border, they agree that this tariff policy is like throwing away trillions of mutually beneficial trade,” she said. “Instead, it’s taxing their own citizens while trying to attack their most important economic partner. It just feels like there’s not a common sense approach to that.”
If there is a positive, Hughes said the tariffs have helped people understand more about where the goods they purchase are coming from. She said it’s also raised awareness about the barriers to inter-provincial trade.
“As consumers, I think it’s very important for us to make very wise decisions more so than ever because of how it will truly impact our local economy,” she said. “From the Chamber aspect, one thing that we have said from the national and provincial level is we really need to reduce the barriers for inter-provincial trade. That will really significantly help our economy.”
On Tuesday, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlace and Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that in response to the U.S. tariffs, the Government of Canada is moving forward with 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of imported goods, beginning immediately with a list of goods worth $30 billion.
The scope of the Canadian counter tariffs will be increased to $155 billion if the current U.S. tariffs are maintained. The scope could also be increased again if new tariffs are imposed.
“Canada is being needlessly and unfairly targeted by these tariffs – and the U.S.’s decision leaves us with no choice but to respond to protect Canadian interests, workers and businesses. Working with provincial, territorial and industry partners, our singular focus is to get these tariffs removed as quickly as possible,” LeBlanc said in a press release.
LeBlanc said the government is also taking steps to mitigate the impact of these countermeasures on Canadian workers and businesses by establishing a remission process to consider requests for exceptional relief from the tariffs imposed as part of our response to the U.S. applying unjustified tariffs on Canada.
“Today, the United States has chosen to pursue a harmful course of action that threatens the prosperity of both our nations. Canada stands firm in defending our economy, workers and businesses against these unjustified tariffs. We are announcing a robust response of $155 billion and remain prepared to take additional measures as needed,” Joly added.
Joly said all options remain on the table as the government considers additional measures, including non-tariff options, should the U.S. continue to apply unjustified tariffs on Canada.
–with files from Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald
