Alberta businesses are dealing with the effects of the trade war between the United States and Canada that just heightened this past week, as U.S. President Donald Trump bumped tariffs on certain Canadian goods to 35 per cent.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bumped the U.S. tariff on Canadian goods that are not compliant to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to 35 per cent. There is also still a 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25 per cent tariff on cars and auto parts.
The Gazette reached out to some businesses to catch up with how they are being impacted, and what changes they've made or may have to make in the future.
Ryan Dyck, head golf professional at Cattail Crossing Golf and Winter Club, manages the pro shop. He said golfers might not have noticed much of a price increase on equipment such as clubs right now, due to manufacturers setting their prices for current models in the winter and spring before tariffs were put in place.
"So you're probably going to see a big increase in club costs next year, next season if the tariffs stay around," Dyck said.
He added that it was tough to say what the price increase could look like, but speculated there could be a $100 to $150 hike on certain products.
"At least on the single drivers and stuff. Maybe on the iron sets you might see even more than that," he said. Most of the big name manufacturers are all American, so he said they're at their whim without many Canadian manufacturers to shift to.
Matthew Atkins, owner of Endeavour Brewing, said he's currently trying to figure out a situation for when it comes time for him to order more hops in November, as he orders his hops primarily from the U.S.
"We tend to make a lot of IPAs and the U.S. tends to produce a lot of citrusy, piney and tropical hops that we use for those kinds of beers," Atkins said.
He hasn't decided yet whether he will continue to order his hops from the U.S. or shift and explore different markets like Canada, or Australia and New Zealand. Although doing so would change the flavour profile of the beers they like to make.
"The industry [in Canada] is so young and immature that they just don't have the varieties that we're looking for and that we're used to using in our beers," he said.
He said the aluminum tariff hasn't affected his prices, as his cans aren't manufactured in the States. Atkins said he has heard from some customers who were inspired to support more local and Canadian brewers.
"The tariffs have created a lot of resentment towards the U.S.," he said.
Peter Delorenzo looks after parts wholesale for Arms Auto Group, a group that owns nine dealerships across Edmonton, Sherwood Park, and Nisku. He also supplies parts to Sturgeon Auto Body Shop here in St. Albert.
He said on the retail side, he's sure the consumer would see an increase in parts when they go in for a repair.
"I'm sure that's where it would hurt his wallet," Delorenzo said. "I know that prices for aftermarket parts have increased."
He said the biggest inconvenience they're facing is in the supply chain as the wait time for parts has gone up significantly.
"Everything is out of the U.S. or everything's got to come from Korea or wherever the manufacturer sends their parts from. We used to get stuff out of Toronto that used to be three to five days. Now it's seven to 10 and could be up to 14 days," he said. "So when you're getting a repair done on your vehicle and you've got to wait 14 days on a part, that becomes a problem, right?"
He said this wait time affects them more in terms of a sales loss than the cost increases of any particular part, which gets put back on the customer.
"The reason I attribute it to that is customers don't want to wait 14 days or 10 days, so they'll go for an aftermarket part," he said.
DeLorenzo said that he doesn't see the trade war slowing down anytime soon.
"I think we need to get used to the new 2025/2026 and moving forward because we're all going to be paying more money for things. I think people just need to adjust," he said.
