Blanket ban on American products or contracts ‘not prudent’ for Toronto: city manager

A 'Proudly Canadian' sign is seen in the window of a store on Yonge Street (L). Toronto City Manager Paul Johnson is seen at a council meeting on Feb. 5, 2025 (R). (CP24 / Toronto City Council).

The City of Toronto will explore opportunities to purchase domestic goods where possible while also launching a campaign to get residents to follow suit, but its top bureaucrat is signalling that a blanket ban on U.S. suppliers “would not be prudent.”

At a special meeting on Wednesday, city council voted unanimously in favour of a plan to develop a “comprehensive, multifaceted” campaign to encourage residents to “to join the City of Toronto’s divisions and its agencies and corporations in purchasing locally made Canadian goods and services” in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Council also voted in favour of a separate, largely symbolic motion, to affirm Canada’s independence in face of comments made by Trump about the annexation of the country.

Trump agreed to a pause tariffs earlier this week but has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods as soon as March 1.

“In the face of economic attack from the United States, even though there’s a pause, some of these priorities are more important than ever,” Mayor Olivia Chow said ahead of today’s meeting.

Some city councillors had previously called for the municipality to stop doing business with American companies entirely in the event of tariffs on Canadian products.

But during Wednesday’s meeting, City Manager Paul Johnson said that it “would not be prudent” for the City of Toronto to take that step.

Johnson estimated that American suppliers account for less than 10 per cent of city contracts within the $19 billion operating budget

“What we’re looking at is that percentage that is purely from an American perspective, but there’s lots of complexity to the issue of procurement,” he said. “I think the intent here is for us to be very clear about trying wherever possible to exercise more direction towards Canadian products.”

The ‘buy local’ campaign being pursued by Toronto City Hall forms part of a four-point plan that Mayor Olivia Chow unveiled earlier this week in response to the looming tariffs.

The plan also includes the establishment of an economic action team that would consist of business and labour leaders and advise the city government on “strategies to protect the sectors of the economy most at risk.”

“We should be doing this regardless of Trump,” Toronto-St. Paul’s Coun. Josh Matlow told CTV News Toronto. “I hope one positive thing that will come out of this whole chaotic chapter is that rather than define ourselves for what we’re not, we should celebrate who we are. We are a Canadian community, and we should be supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs.”

“This is the moment for us to accelerate those efforts and our procurement as a city is one of the greatest levers that we have,” added Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik.

Another part of the plan announced at council today includes having the city manager review existing deals with American suppliers and create a wider “Toronto Action Plan.”

Most councillors at Wednesday’s meeting were on the same page when it comes to pushing a plan to buy local.

“I think we should be further along in our response,” Beaches-East York Coun. Brad Bradford told CTV News Toronto. “We are going to have to take action as a city to make sure that our businesses stay open, and people keep their jobs.”

“We’ve got to inoculate ourselves against the next wave of this tariff hysteria. We’ve got to really protect ourselves because they’re coming at us again,” added Eglinton-Lawrence Coun. Mike Colle.