The tariff threat from U.S. president Donald Trump against Canada is supposedly on hold until early March after a decision made earlier this month, but businesses across Canada are considering their options as far as new markets and supply chains go, as well as modifying their advertising to emphasize Canadian products.
Various Canadian premiers and prime minister Justin Trudeau have encouraged Canadians to re-direct their purchasing power towards Canadian products rather than American in order to help support Canadian jobs and the Canadian economy as the country deals with a period of uncertainty and instability created by the potential imposition of American tariffs.
With a groundswell of Canadian unity in the face of threatened tariffs, and buy local movements springing up across the country, Manitoba premier Wab Kinew encouraged Manitobans last week to shop locally and support local businesses.
Companies such as Home Hardware Ltd and Federated Co-operatives Ltd have a number of outlets in the Interlake, and their dealer-owners are preparing to minimize the impact that tariffs could have on their customers.
Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is a born-and-raised-in-Canada company with its head office in St. Jacobs, Ont. It’s the largest dealer-owned and operated home retailer in the country, flying banners such as Home Hardware, Home Building Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre, and Home Furniture. Its stores carry just about everything from lumber, tools and plumbing and electrical supplies to appliances, housewares and outdoor equipment, as well as ready-to-move homes and services such as key cutting.
Countryside Home Building Centre in Fisher Branch and the Arborg Home Hardware Building Centre told the Express last week they’re currently considering how they can find ways to cushion the financial impact of tariffs should Trump move forward with his 25 per cent tariff on Canadian products and 10 per cent on energy, and should Canada, in response, launch its own countervailing tariffs against American products. Tariffs will inflate the price of products for both American and Canadian consumers.
Matt Steiner of Countryside Home Building Centre said his store is “focused on supporting our customers and the local economy.”
The store is following the lead of Home Hardware’s head office by identifying Canadian products and Canadian residency.
“There are differences between products that are made in Canada and products that are finished in Canada,” said Steiner. “It’s coming to the forefront now what these labels actually mean.”
He said he’s examining ways to keep costs stable for Countryside’s customers by looking at his procurement options and making sure that what the store stocks and sources is supporting Canadian-made products where possible.
“This is a conversation I’m having with our suppliers. Not everything I get arrives on a Home Hardware truck, and I’m looking at all our [product] categories to see where things are coming from,” said Steiner. “Tariffs would inflate the price of products. Nobody’s going to eat 25 per cent and stand good for that. We have to be as competitive as we can and find Canadian products to save our consumers that extra cost, whether it’s residents, contractors or people trying to build a house. We want to make sure everyone’s dollar reaches as far as possible.”
In terms of whether he anticipates supply-chain issues should tariffs come to the fore, Steiner said he expects a measure of disruption.
“In 2018 we had supply chain issues related to forest fires in British Columbia. We had a terrible time getting lumber to the Prairies. We thought we saw it all in 2018, then 2020 happened,” said Steiner, referring to supply-chain interruptions that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is something we think about. The lumber industry, for instance, is a commodity market and we’re always looking to see what is the right thing to do for now and how can we best serve our customers so that products remain affordable on the Prairies.”
As far as changing its advertising message to promote local shopping and/or buying Canadian, Home Hardware Stores’ chief marketing officer Laura Baker said the company has always celebrated its Canadian roots and its Canadian-made products, and it be will actively identifying Canadian products both online and in its dealers’ stores.
“Home Hardware proudly serves Canadians from coast to coast with over 1,000 locally owned and operated stores, giving us a unique opportunity to amplify and celebrate our Canadian roots. Our tagline, Locally Owned, Genuinely Canadian, has never been more significant, reflecting the essential role our independent dealers play in supporting the needs of their local communities and reinforcing our brand promise of Canadians Helping Canadians,” said Baker. “We take pride in our BeautiTone paint brand, which is made in Canada (with domestic and import materials) in Burford, Ont., and we are strong supporters of the Canadian lumber industry. To further champion Canadian businesses, we are actively identifying Product-of-Canada and Made-in-Canada items both in-store and online to help our customers make informed purchasing decisions.”
Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) is a western Canadian company that provides wholesaling (food, home and building supplies, crop supplies, livestock feed petroleum) manufacturing (refinery) marketing (flyers and promotions, digital and content marketing) and administrative (IT infrastructure, accounting services) products and services. The co-operative focuses on four areas: agriculture, energy, building solutions and food and home. FCL has over 160 independent, local co-operative associations that own and operate food stores, gas bars, agriculture centres and home centres across western Canada, with a few members in Ontario.
Some of FCL’s stores in the Interlake include Interlake Consumers Co-op food stores/gas bars/fuel in Arborg and Eriksdale.
Brad DeLorey, FCL’s director of communications and public affairs, said on behalf of the company that the decision to pause the American-Canadian trade tariffs for a 30-day period was “welcome news” for the co-operative retailing system.
“As the threat of tariffs continue to loom, and the growing uncertainty presents challenges, we are using this brief window of stability to actively assess and evaluate the full scope of their potential impact. Over the next 30 days, we are focused on all lines of our business and will work to consider impacts on supply chain, pricing implications and explore alternative options within Canada,” said DeLorey. “As a truly local co-operative system, we are proud to invest in our home-grown producers and communities, and our refinery exclusively fuels the needs of the western Canadian economy.”
Note: On his way to the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, Trump said he would be imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, starting on Feb 10.
