Trade war will 'hurt us both,' Canadian delegation tells American municipal leaders

Haley Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 5:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A Nova Scotia municipal person connected a caller Canadian delegation to Washington, D.C., says the radical stressed to their American counterparts the existent commercialized war will marque beingness much costly for citizens connected some sides of the border.

Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood was portion of a Federation of Canadian Municipalities delegation that attended the National League of Cities league connected Sunday and Monday.

"We're present arsenic friends, allies, neighbours forever, to assistance stock that connection truthful that you recognize that it is going to wounded america both," Mood said successful an interrogation Wednesday, summing up the connection they delivered.

Mood said it was an "eye-opening" acquisition for her, and she met immoderate mayors from the United States who didn't cognize tariffs had been imposed, oregon what their impacts would be.

That's wherefore it was particularly important to dispersed consciousness among section politicians, Mood said. She's hopeful those mayors and councillors volition property their governors for alteration erstwhile they instrumentality home.

"I deliberation we cognize however politicians respond erstwhile the radical connected the crushed are screaming. It whitethorn not enactment with this [U.S.] administration, but we person to bash everything we can," Mood said.

Mood said she and the different radical members, an Ottawa metropolis councillor and the politician of Dorval, Que., gave presentations and spoke with assorted municipal leaders astir the world of the tariff fight.

They discussed how the terms of caller homes and cars volition spell up for some Canadian and American buyers, Mood said, and highlighted however farmers successful the U.S. trust heavy connected Canadian potash for their fertilizer.

California cities similar Los Angeles affected by devastating fires will besides find it much hard and costly to root lumber from Canada to rebuild homes, Mood said.

"The No. 1 thing we got were apologies. You know, 'We're truthful atrocious this is happening to you. You're Canada, you've been our friend, you've been our ally,'" Mood said.

"And, you know, the connection backmost was, 'Listen, we cognize it's not the people, and we're atrocious arsenic well, due to the fact that you're going to hurt. We're going to hurt. And nary of america wants this."

U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance spoke astatine the conference, and Mood said helium focused connected the value of section governance and housing. But she said he didn't code however tariffs volition pb to operation outgo increases for those lodging projects.

"I could person responded each clip to accidental 'But that's not rather it. You know, you're leaving retired the hurtful impacts,' and that's what's important to these radical connected the ground," Mood said.

The lone notation Vance made of tensions betwixt the countries was erstwhile helium said however pleased helium was to spot Canada moving to "tighten the border" to forestall drugs from flowing into the U.S., Mood said. 

President Donald Trump has cited fentanyl crossing into the U.S. from Canada arsenic justification for his administration's tariffs. The U.S. government's ain information shows Canada is not a important root of amerciable fentanyl with little than 20 kilograms of the cause seized astatine the bluish borderline past year.

The Canadian delegation besides met with the Democratic Mayors Association, Mood said, and Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Andrew Ginther, president of the United States Conference of Mayors.

Mood said they asked to conscionable with the Republican Mayors Association arsenic well. They were told that radical would get backmost to them "but they didn't."

Although Mood said she understands the unit of not wanting to upset higher levels of Republican authorities who "hold the chequebook," those successful nationalist work should person a loyalty to their residents first, she said.

The latest volley successful the commercialized saga came Wednesday erstwhile Trump placed a 25 per cent tariff connected Canadian alloy and aluminum. In response, the Canadian authorities slapped tariffs connected astir $30 cardinal worthy of American goods.