Stand together, buy Canadian and 'diversify away from the United States of America': Manitoba trade minister

'They're attacking our entire country, and we can't stand for it,' says Jamie Moses

Manitoba's trade minister wants Canadians to reject U.S. products and support local, while the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is calling for more action on interprovincial trade barriers to help businesses navigate the tariff war.

"We're stronger when we work together. We need to stand up and make sure that we understand who we are as a country and who we are as a business sector and workers," Jamie Moses, Manitoba's minister for business, mining, trade and job creation, said at a news conference on Monday morning.

"Unity is our greatest strength. They're attacking our entire country, and we can't stand for it."

Fifty per cent U.S. tariffs on about $28 billion worth of Canadians goods came into effect early Saturday, after Prime Minister Mark Carney said he suspended trade talks because of "unreasonable" requests by the American side.

Carney has said retaliatory dollar-for-dollar tariffs will hit the U.S. Sept. 8.

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The bulk of the impact will fall on Ontario, Quebec and B.C., but Manitoba will also feel a substantial sting, with 5.2 per cent of the province’s exports impacted, Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said Monday morning.

"We're talking in and around $500 million to $600 million worth of our exports that will now face these unjust tariffs, so it is significant," he said during an interview with CBC's Information Radio.

"We know there's going to be financial pain borne by businesses, workers in our communities."

In comparison, nine per cent of Ontario's exports are affected.

The federal government is planning to announce supports for businesses on Tuesday, and Manitoba will follow suit, Moses said.

"We have a menu of options as well, so we'll be looking at that tomorrow and through the next coming days as we continue to work with the business community in Manitoba," he said, strongly encouraging people to buy Canadian and Manitoba-made products.

"We've certainly taken that approach at the provincial level and we have looked at how we can shift our contracts," Moses said, emphasizing the importance of the Churchill port expansion to reach new markets "and diversify away from the United States of America."

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Remillard said the chamber and its members were "disappointed and shocked" when the trade talks fell apart.

"All of us, based on the information that was being provided heading into that deadline, really felt optimistic … that really we were at the stage of just crossing t’s, dotting i's," he said. "But as the hours crept by, there started to be a sense of something's clearly not working, not going well."

Still, he says Canada broke off talks for good reason and despite the setback, "there's still a level of optimism that we could potentially avert not only this trade dispute moment in time but an escalation."

Carney's threat provides a two-week window of opportunity for a return to the negotiating table, Remillard said.

"This is a very fluid situation with the United States. You never know what one day brings to the next."

He agrees that buying Canadian is a way to ensure this country's economy is somewhat buffered against the U.S. actions, but that requires further reductions in interprovincial trade barriers.

"The biggest thing we can do is really come together as a single market economy of 41 million people," he said.

If Canada is in for a prolonged trade war, "we need to make sure that all parts of our economy are working together."

When it comes to support from the government, Remillard said something like what was in place during the pandemic — such as emergency business accounts and wage supports — would go a long way to keeping companies and their staff afloat.

Colin Rémillard, co-owner of St-Léon Gardens in Winnipeg, said he always prioritizes buying local or Canadian products, but some have to come from the U.S.

The local strawberry season is extremely short, for instance, so to get those berries for the market's full season, he needs to source from California.

"But we are de-prioritizing certain products where we do have the option," he said, adding he will first look locally and then elsewhere in Canada.

But there's no doubt some produce prices will be affected by increases in fertilizer and fuel costs due to the tariffs. Even if those tariffs don’t exist next year, higher costs will be passed along by farmers who had to pay more for supplies and seeds this year, he said.

"It’s all part of the hustle of owning a business, to be honest. You’re constantly pummeled by unpredictable externalities that you have adapt to," said Rémillard.

He's pleased to hear the buy-local messaging because that, ultimately, will be what will keeps small and medium businesses going through the turbulent trade waters, he said.

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It's something consumers like Sharon McGavock have already embraced.

"We have tried to buy only Canadian and we have not travelled to the States other than for a health issues once, and we won’t until things change, maybe until they have a new leader," she said while shopping in Winnipeg's St. Boniface neighbourhood.

"We used to travel down there, but we don’t [anymore]. We stay in Canada. Canada has lots of nice places to visit."

Darren Bernhardt has been with CBC Manitoba since 2009 and specializes in offbeat and local history stories. He is the author of two bestselling books: The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent, and Prairie Oddities: Punkinhead, Peculiar Gravity and More Lesser Known Histories.

With files from Cory Funk and Maggie Wilcox