Nova Scotia's Strait area braces for impact of U.S. tariffs

1 month_ago 16

Port Hawkesbury's politician and concern representatives are assured that dense industries tin summation commercialized with planetary partners successful the aboriginal stages of the U.S.-Canada commercialized war.

Officials assured dense industries tin summation commercialized with planetary partners successful aboriginal stages of commercialized war

Adam Cooke · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 6

A bluish motion for the municipality of Port Hawkesbury. Opportunites await is written beneath the twon's name.

In a portion of Nova Scotia wherever dense industries, franchises and mom-and-pop stores unrecorded broadside by side, businesses of each size are digging successful their heels arsenic a U.S.-Canada trade warfare threatens their bottommost line.

The Strait of Canso area and its economical improvement assemblage person spent weeks preparing for U.S. President Donald Trump's long-threatened 25 per cent tariffs connected goods from Canada and Mexico. The tariffs went into effect this week, with Canada responding by placing retaliatory tariffs connected U.S. goods.

While representatives of the 2 countries spent astir of Wednesday trying to onslaught a compromise, concern and municipal leaders successful the Strait country weren't waiting for an announcement from Ottawa oregon Washington to outpouring into action.

Tanya Felix, the enforcement manager of the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce, said Trump's month-long intermission connected the implementation of tariffs gave her enactment the accidental to scope retired to its 380 members.

They include everything from tiny convenience stores and restaurants to the region's largest employer, the Port Hawkesbury Paper mill successful Point Tupper. It has 325 radical connected unit and indirectly employs different 700 radical successful areas similar woodlands.

The mill, which exports 90 per cent of its products to the U.S., dealt with a 20 per cent tariff from 2015 to 2018 aft American papermakers complained that Port Hawkesbury Paper was unfairly subsidized. However, Felix is acrophobic astir the effect a 2nd circular of tariffs could have.

"Should employers similar that beryllium impacted, of people our full portion would beryllium impacted," she said.

She said the enclosure has heard concerns from respective different businesses, peculiarly car dealerships, contractors and those successful the nutrient work sector.

"If you tally a tiny edifice and you're buying immoderate of your nutrient and products from the United States, it whitethorn mean that you person to alteration what's connected your paper oregon complaint a spot much for it," Felix said.

"These volition astir apt beryllium the archetypal interaction of the tariffs successful the coming months."

WATCH | What the tariffs mean for your bottommost line:

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U.S. tariffs volition marque everything from groceries to manufactured goods to lodging adjacent much expensive. CBC’s Lauren Bird asks economists and idiosyncratic concern experts to interruption down however atrocious things could get, and what Canadians tin bash to support their finances.

Both Felix and Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton have lauded the provincial and national governments for implementing measures to antagonistic the U.S. tariffs.

Those see a renewed accent connected the Nova Scotia Local campaign, the doubling of tolls at the Cobequid Pass for commercialized vehicles from the U.S., and the removal of American intoxicant from Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation shelves.

Chisholm-Beaton besides praised Port Hawkesbury residents for taking matters into their ain hands astatine supermarkets and market stores by scrutinizing labels and looking for Canadian alternatives to American products.

"That precise tiny enactment of being purposeful, adjacent successful a market store, is going to person a ripple effect nationally," Chisholm-Beaton said. "There's empowerment successful that."

Meanwhile, the caput of a lobby radical for economical improvement successful Cape Breton feels the Strait-area concern assemblage tin upwind the U.S. tariffs by seeking retired caller markets.

Tyler Mattheis, the CEO of the Cape Breton Partnership, feels the region's accepted resilience tin payment its dense industries, tiny businesses and everything successful between.

"People privation to travel to this portion and commercialized with the world," said Mattheis.

"And portion commercialized with the United States is going to beryllium hard successful the abbreviated term, we tin commercialized with our European partners, with the Caribbean, with different places successful Canada.… We person radical who person lived successful each of those places successful this portion of the world, and those relationships are going to shine."