Canadian small businesses say they need direct support from Ottawa as ongoing trade tensions with the United States continue to squeeze their bottom lines.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) welcomed Ottawa’s August 22 decision to drop some retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, calling it a “step in the right direction.” But the group says many companies have already paid millions in counter-tariffs and want the federal government to release tariff revenues to struggling firms.
“Nearly six in 10 small firms report they were hurt by Canada’s counter-tariffs,” said Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB’s executive vice-president of advocacy. “We urge Ottawa to immediately release its tariff revenue to small businesses directly and indirectly affected by trade disruptions and work quickly to resolve small business requests still tied up in the remissions process.”
A CFIB survey conducted earlier in August found more than 60 per cent of small businesses face higher expenses, while nearly half have seen revenues decline. About one in five firms dealing with tariff costs said they won’t survive more than six months if conditions remain unchanged.
Tariffs — imposed after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 25 per cent duty on Canadian imports earlier this year — have hit everything from steel and aluminum to orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, footwear, and appliances. Canada responded with its own $30 billion in reciprocal tariffs in March.
The CFIB says the burden has largely fallen on small businesses, with nearly seven in 10 paying the full Canadian tariff, at a median cost of $9,000. Many, the group noted, have had little choice but to absorb the costs rather than pass them on to consumers.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on August 22 that Canada will lift retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA). But tariffs on steel and aluminum remain in place, leaving many small businesses still caught in the crossfire.