Battling it out with tariffs is “such a ridiculous policy,” according to one Alberta-based economist. “It’s like me slapping myself in the face to teach you a lesson,” Moshe Lander said. “And then you respond by punching yourself in the stomach, saying, ‘Well, I hope you understand that I mean business, too.’ Trade talks between Canada and the United States broke down over the weekend. The talks broke down at the 11th hour as U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat loomed. Now, Canada is facing 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion worth of goods and plans to strike back with dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs. Lander, who works with Concordia University in Montreal, says we’re “going to see our cost-of-living and affordability issues become even more acute.” Calgary businesses are bracing, and looking for ways to keep climbing costs off the backs of consumers. Bridgeland Market’s owner says he’s trying to “pick and choose” where products are bought from. “We shift from buying U.S. cheeses to domestic or French, British or Swiss, if we can find something comparable,” Yousef Traya said. “Or just not buy it at all.” Traya says some products are pre-bought, and he eyes some products that aren’t getting bought, picking them up when they go on sale. “We just wait and see,” he said. “We’re not reactionary. We’ll move on to the next thing or not buy it.” Bowest Appliances’ general manager says she knows of a couple of manufacturers “stockpiling out of the U.S.” to keep price tags reasonable. Patricia Warner says her own inventory is such that she can go a while “without any increased prices.” But she says no doubt, the “feud” is “going to hurt Canadians.” SSG Automotive’s owner wants to see “a better discussion with the U.S. about this.” Stephen Garland says what’s happening is “affecting our daily lives.” He says his business is going to have to pass some of the increasing costs of vehicle parts onto his customers—stockpiling isn’t an option. “I have ordered a few things,” he said. “We work on everything, so it’s almost impossible to keep a large enough inventory to satisfy all the vehicles that we repair.” Garland says he expects a dip in business as customers put off repairs. With files from Tyler Barrow
