Truckers in Waterloo region fear U.S. tariffs could 'cripple the industry'

Joe Pavia · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 08, 2025 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 8

Canadian truckers are acrophobic imaginable U.S. tariffs against Canadian products are going to origin much fiscal heartbreak for an manufacture already bushed up from years of a low-freight market, and the rising costs of labour and fuel.

Shelley Walker with the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada, a non-profit enactment based successful Cambridge that encourages women to enactment successful the proscription industry, says a tariff imposed by the U.S. authorities against Canada is not thing the manufacture needs close now.

"We person really had companies that person closed their doors. We person manufacturing companies that are stopping shipments, and are doing layoffs," said Walker.

"The unstable system successful some countries, the elections and the instability successful our authorities person led to radical taking a 2nd look astatine what they're doing and restructuring their businesses."

Walker says she spoke to immoderate dispatchers connected the time the scheduled March tariffs came into spot and was told "they hardly had immoderate freight for drivers to move."

According to the U.S. section of transportation, astatine slightest 60 per cent of commercialized betwixt Canada and the U.S. moves by motortruck which totals billions of dollars successful revenue.

Tariffs could 'cripple the industry'

Jason Bell of WS Bell Cartage successful Kitchener says his institution is taking the on-again, off-again quality astir tariffs connected a day-by-day basis.

WS Bell Cartage, which ships meat products, machinery and "everything successful between" has implicit the years reduced the fig of transverse borderline drivers to 12, Bell said. About 20 per cent of the company's gross comes from cross-border transportation and they primarily absorption connected Ontario and Canadian-based markets.

"We are greatly acrophobic the tariffs could cripple the manufacture and besides disquieted that a batch of carriers that tally U.S. shipments volition crook to doing home freight," said Bell.

"[That will] marque it acold much competitory and the rates volition alteration successful an already competitory industry."

Mike Millian, the president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, which is based successful Milton, agrees with Bell.

"There's going to beryllium a shortage of goods being imported and exported, which means there's going to beryllium little request for drivers to determination freight," said Millian.

 "Which means it's going to enactment immoderate drivers either temporarily retired of work, and possibly permanently retired of work, depending connected however agelong it lasts."

Solutions from the trucking industry

The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, headed by Millian and different trucking associations, person reached retired to politicians with a database of what could assistance them trim the fiscal symptom from tariffs.

"I would anticipation that connected April 1 that c taxation is not going to increase," said Millian.

"If we're not going to region the c tax, astatine slightest trim it to assistance out. There's an excise taxation connected diesel substance that could beryllium removed to assistance america out."

The c taxation is scheduled to emergence from $80 a tonne to $95 a tonne connected April 1. It is scheduled to spell up different $15 each twelvemonth until 2030, erstwhile it reaches $170 a tonne. The terms of state volition besides summation astatine the pumps.

Along with suspending oregon reducing the c taxation and the excise taxation connected diesel the Canadian Trucking Alliance besides outlined a database of different implementations they accidental could save betwixt $15,000 to $ 20,000 per motortruck per year.

That database includes:

• The Council of Ministers, which is made up of the premiers and premier minister, make a trucking taxation alleviation programme related to specified measures arsenic on-road provincial diesel fuel, provincial taxes/fees associated with the trucking industry, and authorities shipping procurement practices. 

• Government of Canada increase on-road repast allowance deductibility to 100 per cent for motortruck drivers facing reduced demands for their service.

• Ensure that immoderate alleviation packages oregon program, similar the work-sharing program, volition lone beryllium disposable to individuals connected payroll oregon autarkic contractors who person voluntarily opted into EI. 

To beryllium continued

U.S. President Donald Trump paused tariffs connected Thursday for the second time this year. Some Canadian goods volition person a reprieve until April 2.

But Trump's method of altering the commercialized rules and announcing a caller deadline leaves radical similar Shelley Walker feeling anxious.

"[Trump says] 1 infinitesimal I'm doing this to Canada and we are preparing and past no, I'm going to unbend it for 30 days and past he's going to bash it again," said Walker.

"I had a treatment with immoderate manufacture radical and we equated it to intelligence wellness abuse. It's similar being successful that abusive relationship. And that's what Trump is doing close present to Canada."

LISTEN | Local truckers respond to U.S. commercialized warfare with Canada: