Canadian book industry calls on government to keep it out of trade war

Books line shelves at the North York Central Library in Toronto on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Canada’s literary institutions are banding together on the eve of an expected announcement about counter-tariffs on U.S. imports that could include books.

Booksellers big and small, libraries and publishers are advocating for books to be left off the list of American-made items subject to tariffs from the Canadian government.

The executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers says the majority of books sold in Canada are imported, so tariffs would have a big effect on an industry where margins are already slim.

Jack Illingworth says Canadian books and other cultural goods are not currently subject to U.S. tariffs, but Congress could change that if Canada imposes its own levy on book imports.

Meanwhile a joint letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney from the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association and Indigo Inc. CEO Heather Reisman says the effects of these tariffs would be “devastating.”

The letter says Canadian booksellers would be uniquely disadvantaged by the tariffs because “American competitors — such as Amazon — would likely evade them by leveraging their North American fulfilment network and print-on-demand capabilities.”

The Canadian Urban Libraries Council also called on the government to exempt books.

In a letter to the Department of Finance, CULC Executive Director Mary Chevreau says a 25 per cent tariff would “collectively cost Canadian libraries millions of dollars and represent at minimum a 10 per cent reduction to budgets that are already under pressure.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2025.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press