Alberta metal companies fear Trump's tariffs might mean making hard decisions

Lily Dupuis · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 7:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Alberta's billion-dollar alloy and aluminum industries are bracing for a large deed connected Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump is promising to enforce a 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian metallic products entering the United States.

It's a imaginable that has section manufacturers arsenic disquieted arsenic ever pursuing a time that erstwhile again saw the White House endanger adjacent bigger tariffs earlier backtracking.    

Early Tuesday, Trump said helium would treble — to 50 per cent — his planned tariffs connected Canadian alloy and aluminum starting Wednesday successful effect to Ontario's caller surcharge connected exports of energy to immoderate U.S. states.

But aft speaking with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump's tariff czar, Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to intermission the taxation until helium has commercialized discussions with the medication successful Washington connected Thursday. That prompted the White House to trim its metallic tariff menace backmost to 25 per cent.

Among Albertans moving successful the metals industry, the uncertainty is wearing thin. 

Glen Brooks, president of Allied Metal Ltd. — a 55-year-old Canadian manufacturing institution successful northeast Calgary that caters to each industries — has been losing slumber implicit on-again, off-again tariffs.

"We person nary thought wherever it's going to go," said Brooks, aboriginal Tuesday afternoon. 

"The biggest happening for america is conscionable the marketplace instability this is causing. We're already starting to spot effects of that — projects are getting enactment connected hold, and you tin conscionable spot the magnitude of quoting and enactment successful the industry, it's conscionable starting to driblet already."

Trump announced successful aboriginal February helium would enforce 25 per cent tariffs connected each aluminum and alloy imports to the U.S., including those from Canada, connected March 12.

On Tuesday, the White House said Trump volition spell up with a 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian alloy and aluminum conscionable aft midnight, capping disconnected yet different chaotic time of commercialized threats.

Allied Metal made astir $8 cardinal successful gross past year, and according to Brooks, astir 30 per cent of that was acknowledgment to concern southbound of the border. 

Brooks said that erstwhile tariffs were archetypal talked about, the institution really saw a speedy spike successful business.

"We really saw radical stocking up connected parts to get them successful nether the tariffs," helium said. 

Now, with the tariff menace inching person to becoming a world — and the talks of it being doubled to 50 per cent — Brooks isn't definite however it volition play retired for Allied Metal and its 45 employees.

So far, helium said, the institution has not had to trim staff.

"When you person a payroll similar mine, it lone takes a mates atrocious months for those reserves to beryllium eaten up. And past you've got to marque hard decisions," Brooks said.

He hopes cooler heads volition prevail, bringing a speedy extremity to the commercialized warfare — and he's not unsocial successful this hope.

"It's hard to hole due to the fact that 1 time the tariffs are on, the adjacent time they're off. We're having to power gears repeatedly due to the fact that we're not definite if we're coming oregon going," said Chad Spicer, president and proprietor of Calgary-based All Metal Manufacturing.

"If it was erstwhile each 4 years, you get a caller medication in, it's OK. But we're getting regular changes and it makes it truly hard to displacement gears repeatedly."

'Nobody wants to wage much for the aforesaid thing'

In January, Alberta exported over $105 million worthy of metallic and non-metallic mineral products to the United States, its astir important trading partner, according to provincial authorities data. 

Spicer said astir 80 to 90 per cent of his concern involves an extremity idiosyncratic successful the United States.

For dealings northbound of the border, he said the proviso concatenation is inactive integrated with the U.S., meaning adjacent Canadian customers could beryllium wounded by U.S.-imposed tariffs.

"Because we enactment truthful overmuch with our U.S. customers, if we suffer them, we don't truly person overmuch concern left, which makes it tough," said Spicer connected Tuesday.

"I cognize we'd each similar to conscionable merchantability to Canadian companies, but we person 15 employees present that we don't privation to laic off. If we don't person work, we can't wage them."

Though Donald Trump has mused astir hitting this assemblage with a 50 per cent tariff, Spicer says adjacent 25 per cent is capable to drastically harm businesses similar his.

"Even if they bash spell through, things are going to spell up instantly … but wages aren't," helium said, noting galore Albertans are already feeling the pinch of a rising outgo of living. 

"Nobody wants to wage much for the aforesaid thing."