Voters in Waterloo region say they're just trying to survive U.S. tariffs

Cameron Mahler · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

With much U.S. tariffs connected Canadian goods expected to instrumentality effect Wednesday, businesses and voters successful Waterloo portion are voicing increasing concerns astir the economical interaction it could have.

A elector survey by CBC Kitchener-Waterloo shows that astir fractional of respondents accidental tariffs and the proposition Canada should go the 51st authorities successful the U.S. are some their apical predetermination concern.

Just arsenic the predetermination was called connected March 21, CBC K-W visited farmers' markets in St. Jacobs and Cambridge to talk to voters astir their apical predetermination issues this national run and astir overwhelming said tariffs.

Karen Bramble is an interior stylist who sells wellness products and dried floral arrangements doubly a week astatine the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market.

Bramble is feeling a nonstop interaction connected her concern due to the fact that she sources eucalyptus from California. It's a large portion of her concern and she says she whitethorn person to rise prices of each floral statement by astir $3 connected average.

"This is my breadstuff and food truthful I request to bash what I request to bash to survive," she said.

Impact connected section community

Ian McLean, CEO of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, said tech, car manufacturing and car proviso concatenation manufacturing are apt to instrumentality the biggest deed locally.

"It's crossed the board," helium said.

The tariffs, which U.S. President Donald Trump announced arsenic portion of his 2024 re-election campaign, were scheduled to instrumentality effect earlier this twelvemonth but were repeatedly postponed. Now, with the latest deadline acceptable for Wednesday, section concern leaders are already opening the enactment program process.

But extracurricular of the region's manufacturing industry, McLean said the interaction connected smaller businesses tin beryllium harder to gauge.

"It's precise idiosyncratic due to the fact that it truly depends connected wherever your input costs are going and wherever your last marketplace is for your product," helium said.

He said organizations similar his, alongside the Business Economic Support Team Waterloo Region (BESTWR), which is the culmination of 5 ample section economical improvement agencies, are moving to effort and mitigate the contented arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

They're helping tiny businesses find substitutions wherever materials travel from and wherever products go.

This is portion of BESTWR's enactment to make a tariff enactment program for the Region of Waterloo. Modelled aft their COVID-19 measures, the program gathers information from businesses and past creates a enactment program to bring to higher levels of government.

The enclosure has besides reactivated chambercheck.ca, a pandemic-era website that has been redesigned to assistance businesses navigate the caller commercialized environment.

Action from the region, cities

Waterloo portion isn't the lone municipality getting up connected tariff action.

The cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph have passed their ain "Buy Canadian" motions.

These item plans to enactment with metropolis unit to question section alternatives for goods and services that may been purchased from U.S. suppliers successful the past.

Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett besides projected tax-related measures to easiness the interaction of tariffs connected section businesses. 

"We were already seeing the repercussions of the system connected our concern municipal taxation base," Liggett said successful an interrogation with CBC News. 

"So I've besides directed unit to look astatine deferring immoderate of the announcement fees based connected however they're going to beryllium hit."

Liggett said the preliminary program would spot Cambridge businesses that are capable to show important losses straight related to a tariff person much clip to wage their municipal taxes.

She added that a akin program for residential taxpayers could travel if the interaction becomes terrible enough.

Tariffs and Canadian sovereignty

For galore voters, the interest isn't conscionable economic, but political, too.

Public remarks and societal media posts from U.S. President Donald Trump astir Canada becoming the 51st U.S. authorities has radical disquieted that tariffs could beryllium portion of a larger strategy to weaken and adjacent annex Canada.

Richard Gold, a prof of instrumentality astatine McGill University and a elder chap with the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) successful Waterloo, dismisses that possibility.

"I judge it's betwixt nil and zero," Gold said. "The U.S. whitethorn beryllium our friends, but we don't privation to beryllium them."

Gold said the differences are excessively large for galore Canadians.

"There's tons of interest implicit guns, implicit the divisive culture, the deficiency of enactment for those of america who are little good off," helium said.

Gold said helium hasn't seen a groundswell of enactment for joining the United States, either. He besides doesn't judge the U.S. subject would privation to enactment their service successful Canada.

"I deliberation it's rather constricted to Donald Trump and a fewer different people. So I conscionable don't spot it arsenic a existent option."