'We will do what we need to do': Kitchener mayor outlines steps to mitigate impact of U.S. tariffs

Ieva Lucs · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 1:33 PM EST | Last Updated: March 5

Kitchener's politician says the confederate Ontario metropolis has been preparing for U.S. tariffs for the past month, and announced a caller task unit to assistance dull the effects of the levies.

Mayor Berry Vrbanovic sent retired a merchandise connected Wednesday outlining proactive measures that person been enactment successful spot arsenic good arsenic announcing a 2nd travel to Washington, D.C. "to combat for Kitchener, for Ontario and for Canada astatine this captious time."

Waterloo portion and the remainder of Canada person been sent into a tailspin since 25 per cent tariffs were placed connected astir Canadian goods astatine midnight connected Tuesday. 

"Kitchener is strong, resilient, and innovative. We volition bash what we request to bash to support our economical interests," Vrbanovic said successful the release.

'Buy section approach'

Back astatine a assembly gathering connected Feb. 10, Kitchener projected a question to bargain Canadian-made products whenever possible. On Wednesday, Vrbanovic said enactment is already underway connected this inaugural and volition beryllium "accelerated successful the weeks and months to come."

"This includes absorption to the mayor, CAO and economical improvement teams to enactment successful concern with section concern organizations to enactment our system and beforehand a bargain section approach," Vrbanovic explained.

As well, a City of Kitchener Tariff and Trade Task Force has been created to measure the interaction of the tariffs locally and advocator for commercialized barriers to beryllium removed betwixt provinces.

Hours aft that assembly gathering successful February, Vrbanovic joined Premier Doug Ford down successful Washington, D.C., to effort to marque the lawsuit against the tariffs. 

Ford, Vrbanovic and different provincial leaders were determination arsenic portion of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The politician plans to caput down again this week on with implicit 20 different Canadian and U.S. mayors arsenic portion of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

'We're successful for immoderate choppy waters'

This high-level readying whitethorn beryllium acold comfortableness to businesses dealing with the grim world of the tax.

Tony LaMantia, president and CEO of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation (WREDC), said many businesses successful the portion are "essentially ready" but warned "we're successful for immoderate choppy waters." 

"This has been a existent wake-up telephone for businesses and the state to marque immoderate changes successful presumption of however we run globally," LaMantia told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition big Craig Norris connected Wednesday.

"[Businesses should be] diversifying export markets, focusing connected things similar import substitution and yet removing interprovincial commercialized barriers truthful that radical and goods and services tin freely travel crossed the country," LaMantia said.

He said 1 retired of 5 jobs, oregon betwixt 55,000 and 60,000 jobs successful Waterloo region, are affected by commercialized with the U.S., but not each concern volition beryllium affected successful the aforesaid way. 

Because the menace of tariffs has been astir for astatine slightest a month, immoderate businesses shipped a month's worthy of proviso implicit the border, and successful immoderate cases, LaMantia said they've shipped arsenic overmuch arsenic 5 months worthy of goods. 

"So they've got clip to fundamentally hole and react, [they'll] beryllium capable to transportation pricing, possibly import substitution options," LaMantia said. Whereas different businesses, peculiarly those with smaller margins, volition beryllium seeing layoffs soon until, helium said, "this madness ends."

The WREDC has created 3 moving groups to assistance section businesses:

• One radical for trade-exposed companies, which LaMantia himself is leading.
• A tiny concern moving group.
• A tech-sector moving group. 

"What we're going to beryllium is fundamentally a constituent of interaction for businesses and governments arsenic they marque decisions successful the existent tariff-threatened concern environment, and past we're going to assistance to disseminate decisions to our concern and assemblage stakeholders," LaMantia explained, adding businesses are "ultimately going to person to fig this retired connected their own, but we're present to supply a helping hand."

LaMantia concluded on a hopeful note, calling Waterloo portion businesses "resilient." 

"We're blessed with truly beardown fiscal services, authorities administration, precocious manufacturing, tech and truthful we'll get done this and we'll astir apt travel retired stronger for it."

LISTEN | CEO of Waterloo Economic Development Corp. reacts to Trump tariff threat: