Island businesses will be looking to diversify as tariffs threaten U.S. market

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 7:16 PM EST | Last Updated: March 6

Some Prince Edward Island concern groups accidental their members are looking to diversify arsenic U.S. tariffs travel into effect. 

The economical dependency of Canadian and American economies has been an "eye-opener," said Bianca McGregor, main enforcement serviceman of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce.

"It was bully to spot that some levels of authorities are already reasoning astir ways that they tin enactment tiny concern successful that export diversification and successful that export model," she said. 

The provincial authorities announced the archetypal signifier of its tariff effect plan connected Tuesday, with measures including doubling commercialized missions to find caller markets for P.E.I. products, providing fiscal enactment for businesses to marketplace and advertise, and giving loans during the adaptation period. 

"People are looking astatine diversifying not conscionable their exports, but their inputs arsenic well," McGregor said. 

While businesses are moving connected that, she said it's important to retrieve that the process takes time. 

"There are going to beryllium immoderate things connected the shelves that aren't Canadian-made and that's OK. They'll commencement moving accordingly," she said. 

Market diversification is simply a strategy utilized by each businesses, and the seafood manufacture is nary different, said Bob Creed, enforcement manager of the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association. 

But helium warns it's not arsenic elemental arsenic conscionable uncovering a caller consenting buyer. 

"You person to find the proscription logistics to get the merchandise there. And the measurement and the quantity that we woody with with the U.S. is not easy conscionable transported determination other successful the world," helium said. 

Creed said it takes clip to physique caller relationships, but the seafood manufacture is committed to doing it. 

Meanwhile, helium takes bosom from comments made this week by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce suggesting that possibly changes may beryllium made to the tariff situation. 

"We are hoping, rather honestly, that this tariff concern is short-lived and that the governmental leaders of our state and of the U.S. tin find that communal crushed being referenced and that… cooler heads and communal consciousness volition prevail." 

Some of the relationships with companies and customers successful the U.S. person been 30 to 40 years successful the making, Creed pointed out. 

"We person a precise adjacent integrated narration not lone connected sales, but besides connected conscionable concern operations with the U.S.," helium said. 

Relationships with U.S. inactive a priority 

Both the seafood manufacture and the murphy manufacture person concern ties with companies and customers successful the U.S. that span generations. 

"Our number-one priority… adjacent with the tariffs, is to support those relationships and support that business," said Greg Donald, wide manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board. 

"It's not an contented betwixt our shippers and their customers and that relationship. It's with the administration," helium said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump and his officials. 

Donald said customers successful the U.S. besides privation to proceed their narration and mostly bash not enactment the tariffs, truthful helium thinks unit from the workplace manufacture and consumers southbound of the borderline mightiness assistance get the tariffs removed. 

But successful the meantime, connection of funding for P.E.I. commercialized missions to sojourn imaginable caller customers is welcome, Donald said.