Canada lifting tariffs on U.S. goods offer relief to Ottawa retailers

Canada’s decision to lift retaliatory tariffs on most U.S. goods is expected to be good news for shoppers and businesses in Ottawa. Dave Charbonneau has more.

Canada’s decision to lift retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods starting Sept. 1 is bringing relief to Ottawa shoppers and retailers, who have been struggling with rising prices.

Marilyn Dibb, operations manager at Cedars and Co. Food Market, has had to rethink her shelves.

“We have had to transition because of the tariffs,” Dibb said.

“When the tariffs came in, we saw a huge rise on dry goods as well as product lines in the produce area. So, from anything that came in from the United States. Oranges went up significantly up in price. So, we transitioned and went to Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Portugal.”

Dibb says her customers have joined in the shift towards Canadian products to avoid tariffs and rising prices.

“I would say 90 per cent of our clients have boycotted U.S. goods and they are relying solely on Canadian goods,” she said.

Shopper Lawrence Menard agrees.

“You support local businesses, Canadian businesses, and try and avoid unnecessary tariffs where they apply,” he said.

Another shopper told CTV News Ottawa, “I support local and local producers. The people who are doing all the work. I want to support them. On the Canadian side.”

With Canada set to lift tariffs Sept. 1, businesses and shoppers are hoping for lower prices.

At Capital Furniture and Mattress, owner Nadia Ghadban says tariffs have hurt sales.

“They’ve slowed down business, for sure. People are noticing the increase,” she said.

But come Sept. 1, Ghadban plans to cut prices once the tariffs are lifted.

“We are going to drop our prices back down by 15 per cent so that we’re back to the norm that we were. Because customers have noticed the sudden increase,” she said.

Back at Cedars and Co., Dibb says she might consider U.S. goods again, but only as a last resort.

“So, if the produce significantly comes down in price and we need to adjust and we cannot find it in other countries, diverse countries, we will definitely have to fall back on the U.S.,” she said.