Manitoba reeve joins border alliance to fight tariffs

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As U.S. President Donald Trump’s team insisted Tuesday Canada will be hit with 25 per cent tariffs as of Saturday, a Manitoba reeve has joined a Canada-wide alliance of border mayors to combat the measure.

A group dubbed the Border Mayors Alliance seeks to bring a municipal voice to the table.

The group is chaired by Drew Dilkens, mayor of Windsor, Ont., where the Ambassador Bridge links to Detroit and is the busiest commercial crossing between the two countries, handling one-third of trade traffic, or $1 billion daily. On a typical weekday, in excess of 10,000 commercial vehicles use the crossing.

The new alliance includes city and rural leaders from communities that are close to the U.S. border. Dave Carlson, reeve of the RM of Emerson-Franklin, joined the alliance over the weekend.

“I thought that it would be a good thing to be part of, and to advocate for our interests here on the ground, and give the perspective of what tariffs can mean to our local businesses and to our industries here,” he said Tuesday.

In a letter shared Friday, Dilkens said the group was working to find alternative supply chains to mitigate immediate issues once tariffs are imposed.

“Our two nations have never faced a circumstance that so profoundly threatens our shared economy and poses such devastating impacts on our country, our cities and our families,” the letter reads.

Carlson said he has yet to meet with the alliance but is ready to focus on contingency plans for border communities that would be uniquely affected.

“It is quite different than the view from the province and from the federal government,” he said.

“We have local businesses here that really rely on cross-border trade, whether it’s our local farmers, whether it’s other local businesses, transport businesses, customs brokers, just to make sure that their voice is heard and that we’re unified with our messaging across the country.”

The province has been preparing for the likelihood Trump will follow through with his threat.

Last week, it announced a 16-member trade council, made up of leaders from business groups, labour associations and the private sector, that will advise Premier Wab Kinew.

A tariff hotline and website (manitoba.ca/tariffresponse, 204-945-3744 and toll-free at 1-866-626-4862) were launched Monday so business owners and workers could get more information on tariffs.

Kinew said Friday his government is incorporating tariffs into its budget scenarios. A date for the release of the 2025-26 budget hasn’t been announced.

— With files from The Canadian Press

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca