Sask. businesses brace for counter

Sask. businesses brace for counter-tariffs while getting federal support

Ottawa announced $5.3 million for six projects

Two companies that will receive funding from the federal government to help weather the effects of American tariffs confirmed they'll also be affected by the Canadian counter-tariffs that went into effect on Tuesday.

Seedmaster Manufacturing Ltd. is one of six Saskatchewan companies that Ottawa announced on Tuesday will receive $5.3 million through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative.

Seedmaster, which builds precision air seeders, will use the grant worth more than $596,000 to accelerate its expansion to Australia, said CEO Allan Wiens.

Wiens confirmed that the company's supply chain will also be hit by Canadian counter-tariffs, although his team is still working to calculate what that will mean for its bottom line.

"I've had better nights of sleep, let's put it that way," he said.

He's still in favour of Canada's counter-tariffs, he added.

He isn't sure what other option the federal government had in response to U.S. President Donald Trump, he said.

"A bad deal is, as you know, as impactful as no deal at all."

Ottawa giving combined $11.6M to 8 Saskatoon companies for tariff relief

Support for 'unjustified' tariffs

Buckley Belanger, the federal government's secretary of state for rural development, helped announce the federal funding at a news conference in Regina on Tuesday.

Belanger emphasized that the American tariffs are "unjustified" and that Ottawa is taking actions to assist Canadian businesses. He stressed a belief that rural businesses should get their fair share of support.

"When we talk about building a resilient Canadian economy, we are getting the inspiration from the private sector and the folks that are here today," he said.

"They're providing new services or in some cases new technology."

The $5.3 million announced on Tuesday is being provided through PrairiesCan and the Regional Tariff Response Fund.

Among the companies receiving funding are:

Another $11.6 million was announced for eight Saskatoon companies last week.

Belanger encouraged businesses in Saskatchewan that have been hurt by American tariffs to apply to the regional tariff response fund.

Tuesday's announcement was made at Degelman Industries' headquarters outside Regina. Company president Blair Flavel said the company will invest $4 million of its own on top of the federal funding to bring in new equipment.

"It's a big coupon," Flavel said.

"Would we have done it right now? I don't know. But the incentive of having that help from the government absolutely is appreciated and it helped, you know, a lot in making our decision."

Flavel said the company will also be hurt by Canadian counter-tariffs because of its manufacturing facility in North Dakota as well as the American supply chain it uses to source bearings and materials not produced in Canada.

Roughly 45 to 50 per cent of the company's sales go across the border to the U.S., Flavel said.

The company has to muscle through the counter-tariffs because sourcing replacements for its supply chain takes time and every piece must be tested to meet engineering standards, he said.

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The uncertainty of the ongoing trade dispute is causing problems for his business, his customers and his employees, so he looks forward to a time when free trade between Canada and the U.S. is restored, Flavel said.

"We want free trade. We're not scared of free trade."

Alexander Quon is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. He has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in freedom of information requests and data reporting. He can be reached at: alexander.quon@cbc.ca.