Uncertainty ahead for companies in Brockville, Ont. with U.S. tariff threat

CTV’s Jack Richardson has more on how Brockville businesses are preparing for possible tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S.

Companies in Brockville, Ont. that export their products to the United States are feeling increasingly anxious after president Donald Trump said on his first day back in the White House that he could impose tariffs on Canadian imports as soon as February 1.

Northern Cables Inc. has been in business for nearly three decades and employs over 300 people at their headquarters in the eastern Ontario city.

“A significant percentage of our production is shipped to the United States,” said CEO Shelley Bacon.

“Any kind of tariff will affect what we’re going to build, how much we’re going to build and how we’re going to go to market.”

The company says they are waiting patiently until they have more information about how Canadian companies are expected to operate if Trump follows through with imposing 25 per cent tariffs across the board.

“We really are in ‘what if’ scenarios,” Bacon said. “It’s very hard for us to say with any certainty if and how we’d react at this point.”

Jim Cooper, president of Canarm Ltd., a heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturing company added, “The tariffs just give us more challenges in business that we really don’t need.”

Canarm also has a plant in Illinois and says they would be forced to re-evaluate their options if the tariffs are imposed. Cooper says that would include assessing whether manufacturing in the U.S. would still be worth it.

“We have them on both sides of the border for a reason. You never know when things are going to change with governments and you as a company have to pivot from there,” he said.

“The border’s always front of mind for us.”

Trump’s tariff threat didn’t sit well with Brockville resident Keith Peddle, who usually takes his family to Florida every March. He won’t be bringing them back this year.

“It’s just my own little individual protest of saying ‘no, we’re staying away and spending our money elsewhere,’” Peddle said.

Peddle is changing his travel plans specifically because of Trump’s threats.

“It’s just not what we do as Canadians,” he said. “We’re a peace-loving nation, and we want to have our friends to the south to respect us as we respect them.”

Residents like Dave Mallory have hope Trump will eventually change his mind.

“That’s going to blow over within a month. He’s just playing games with everybody’s minds,” Mallory said. “I think it’s just a ploy for him to get everybody’s attention. He likes to have attention.”

Canada has said it plans to retaliate if the tariffs are imposed. The government says it would begin by singling out a small list of American-made consumer products such as Kentucky bourbon and Florida orange juice.

It could be followed by tariffs on a longer list of U.S. goods worth $37 billion, and then if needed, Canada would hit an additional $110 billion in manufacturing and other products.

With files from CTVNews.ca