Groups call for end to tariffs on sports gear, warn of economic impacts

OTTAWA – Some sports organizations and companies are urging governments on both sides of the border to suspend sports-related tariffs, warning of heightened economic challenges and waning participation in healthy activities.

The trade war between Canada and the United States has been escalating for weeks after talks on a trade deal collapsed in mid-August.

The next day, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent duties on $28 billion in Canadian goods, including hockey equipment, golf and gym equipment and fishing rods and parts.

Canada, in turn, implemented retaliatory tariffs on Sept. 8. They also target several categories of sporting goods, including track suits, ski suits and swimwear, golf equipment and fishing rods.

Aneysha Bhat, spokesperson for the Washington-based Sports and Fitness Industry Association, told The Canadian Press that tariffs are hurting companies in the industry and undermining public participation in sports.

“Affordability supports participation, it helps participation grow,” she said. “Increasing sports and fitness participation helps us build active communities and healthy communities, but these tariffs really impede our ability to do that.”

The Sports and Fitness Industry Association represents more than 700 sporting goods and fitness brands, manufacturers, retailers, businesses, and youth and professional leagues.

Bhat said the organization is urging both governments to come back to the table and restart trade negotiations.

Mark Macaulay, head of procurement at Home Run Sports in Winnipeg, said Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are the ones hitting his company.

“We deal with bat companies out of Louisiana and Pennsylvania, and basically if we were to bring product across the border right now, our cost on that good is going to be 50 per cent higher than what it was prior to September 8,” he said. “It’s quite a big jump.”

Macaulay said that if tariffs continue into the late fall or over the winter, they’ll probably force the company to either delay or cancel shipments.

“The cost of the goods will be so expensive that the retail selling price is going to go up,” he said. “We as a business aren’t going to eat that cost. It will have to be passed on to the end user.”

Macaulay also said that if tariffs continue, consumers may be forced to buy brands that aren’t affected by tariffs.

On the United States side, there are concerns that tariffs on Canadian imports could send already soaring hockey gear prices even higher.

The federal government says it’s looking at gaps in Canadian manufacturing and procurement after imposing tariffs on several American sporting goods.

Adam van Koeverden, secretary of state for sport, said the government doesn’t want to see the equipment that families need to keep their kids involved in sport affected by tariffs.

Van Koeverden didn’t specify which sports or communities are being hit hardest by tariffs. Instead, he said the government is assessing impacts “across the board.”

“We’re going to be chatting with national sport organizations to make sure they’re looking at their procurement practices to ensure that they’re buying Canadian,” he said.

“At the same time, (we’re) seeing what we can do as an innovative country to create more of the stuff that we need here.”

Riyadh Nazerally, a spokesperson for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, said in an email the government recognizes that U.S. tariffs are creating challenges and uncertainty for Canadian manufacturers.

He said the government also recognizes that the impacts of the tariffs fall largely on small and medium-sized businesses.

“The government remains focused on helping businesses address immediate liquidity challenges, maintain operations, and protect jobs,” said Nazerally.

Hockey Canada said in a media statement that the organization fully supports all of the efforts being made by the federal government to address the current tariffs situation with the United States.

“We continue to monitor the situation and the potential impact it could have on our national hockey community,” reads a statement from the organization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2026.

— With files from Nick Murray