Mayors of border cities call on Ottawa for funding, support as tariff war continues

Mayors of several Canadian border cities and towns are calling for support from the federal government as the tariff war with the United States starts to hurt their communities, warning of dire economic consequences if Ottawa doesn’t act immediately.

They said at a press conference Friday that businesses in their communities are disproportionately affected, and could face layoffs, because they rely heavily on cross-border movement of goods and visitors.

The trade spat comes as many businesses are still recovering from the economic hit of border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike Bradley, mayor of Sarnia, Ont., said direct support from the federal government is needed to weather this new storm.

“We’re feeling the pain and we’re on the front line. That’s just the reality of being a border city,” he said. “There are many joys to being a border city, but there’s also a lot of pain on occasion when issues beyond our control happen.”

Bradley said mayors are planning to apply more pressure on Ottawa after the federal election that is widely expected to be called this weekend.

Once a new government is in place, “then we’ll be making a full court press to make sure that these communities, these individual businesses, can receive the funding they need to survive,” he said.

Trina Jones, the mayor of Woodstock, N.B., said the provinces and Ottawa need to “act quickly and smartly” to help businesses.

“If they don’t get support sooner rather than later, then some of them may have to close permanently,” she said. “We don’t want to see that in our communities. They play an important role. They offer a great service.”

Gary Zalepa, the mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., said 80 companies in his town could be hit hard and around 1,700 jobs would be at risk in the case of a protracted trade war.

He urged Ottawa “to immediately reduce interprovincial trade barriers, specifically in the agricultural sector,” and offer “targeted financial assistance for impacted businesses.”

Wayne Redekop, the mayor of Fort Erie, Ont., noted that the current situation is reminiscent of pandemic-era closures.

“Anything that impedes the flow of people impacts duty-free stores on both sides of the border, it affects the restaurants, the hospitality industry, tourism,” he said.

Barbara Barrett, the executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association, said duty-free stores are at a “breaking point” as cross-border traffic declines amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened and imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.

She called on the federal government to address the unique needs of cities and local businesses that are dependent on cross-border trade and tourism.

“These shops are often the anchor employers in their small communities, driving tourism spending and supporting local jobs,” she said. “Now they’re facing literal demise.”

Cameron Bissonnette, a duty-free shop owner in Osoyoos, B.C., said his business is going through challenging times and the situation is so dire that his store lost $67 one day last week, meaning no transactions were carried out except for a refund.

“I was asked a question: ‘How long do you think your business can remain solvent?’ That was a punch to the gut, because I really had to think about it,” he said.

He said duty-free stores are the “hostages” in the ongoing trade war.

The mayor of Osoyoos, Sue McKortoff, said business owners there are worried and confused about the future. She criticized those discouraging cross-border tourism amid current tensions.

“People say to me, ‘Well, I don’t think that we should be going across the border.’ I say I intend to,” she said, noting she has family members living in California.

“I don’t have a problem with most of the American people. I just have a problem with a few of them at the top, which has caused a great deal of concern here.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025.

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press