Manitobans are on edge after cross-border trade talks turned sour. Much of the honey Phil Veldhuis produced in Manitoba is shipped south of Canada, but because of the escalated trade war with the United States, he said that door has closed. “A lot of Canadian honey will not cross the border,” said Veldhuis on Monday. “(A) 50 per cent tariff, basically, is like an embargo.” After the Canadian delegation pulled out of trade talks Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump moved forward with 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Canadian goods including honey. Veldhuis, the owner of Phil’s Honey near Starbuck, said he sends 90 per cent of his honey to a cooperative. It is then sold to markets such as the United States. “I get paid from my cooperative based on their success in selling, so in a situation where they can’t sell the honey, I don’t get paid,” he said. Over the weekend, Prime Minister Mark Carney said last minute demands from the American delegation were unfair and threatened Canada’s sovereignty. Now, Carney has promised counter tariffs on American goods coming into Canada starting Sept. 8. Manitoba’s premier, Wab Kinew, told reporters Saturday he is in support of Carney’s stance against the deal. “The Government of Manitoba is 100 per cent behind the prime minister’s direction to retaliate against Donald Trump’s unjustified and immoral tariffs,” Kinew said. All of this means Manitoba businesses are on the hook, said Chuck Davidson, the president of Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. “It is going to have an impact there’s no question about that because there’s a lot of businesses that simply can’t make that pivot and simply say ‘we’re simply not going to do business with the U.S.,” Davidson told CTV Your Morning Winnipeg on Monday. Derek Hird, who owns Evolution Wheel, makes airless tires in Winnipeg. He is worried about Canadian counter tariffs hitting materials he imports from the U.S. “You continuingly grow and then, all of a sudden, you have bigger bills,” said Hird. “When you look at those bills being tariffs, it’s not like it’s a small bill anymore, it’s pretty big bill.” Hird said he wants Canadian leaders to stop with the rhetoric and get back to the bargaining table. “This is elementary school stuff and here we have the leaders of the whole country just flinging off accusations and saying whatever they want. I mean c’mon — how’s this going to work?” he added. The province and federal government have both promised supports for impacted industries.
