Muskoka chair maker's tariff woes highlight challenges for mom-and-pop manufacturers

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A Canadian Muskoka chair maker hit hard by U.S. tariffs is considering moving the bulk of its manufacturing to the United States.

DFC Woodworks Inc. has been making outdoor wooden patio furniture including Muskoka chairs — also called Adirondack chairs — since 1955.

The Kemptville, Ont., company exports about 70 per cent of its furniture to the United States, but those goods are now subject to a steep 50 per cent U.S. duty.

DFC Woodworks president François Bruneau says the family-run business is now saddled with a hefty tariff bill and a looming decision over whether to keep absorbing the costs, raise prices and risk seeing U.S. sales fall to zero, or move the majority of its manufacturing south of the border.

Fen Hampson, an international affairs professor at Carleton University, says the Muskoka chair maker’s dilemma illustrates the challenges facing many Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises.

He says mom-and-pop manufacturers may lack the financial resources, diversified markets and specialized trade expertise that allow larger corporations to weather a trade war.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2026.

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press