Winnipeggers talk tariffs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/02/2025 (224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat has many Manitobans on edge. The Free Press went to The Forks, a Walmart and Safeway store to ask people how they are reacting to the potential for a trade war.

“If I have a choice between a product made in the U.S and one made in Canada — I will definitely choose the one made in Canada,” he said.

— Paul Young, retired ex-military officer

“I’d often travel to the States for a vacation of some sort but not anymore. Now I think twice, maybe three or four times before crossing the border. It’s a sensitive time right now.”

— Shirley Gagnon, retired X-ray technologist

“He (Trump) is a bully — that’s what he does,” said Zajac. “I think we (Canada) need to fight back more and bully him back a little bit — that might be the only way to get through to him.”

— Andrea Zajac, retired provincial civil servant

“I know at an individual level we can’t do anything — we’re never going to do anything. But if we stood as a group, we could,” Volanski said. “We need to stop giving all the power to a select number of people who are ready to abuse it.”

— Brad Volanski, retired mining worker

“We were looking forward to going on a trip, but we cancelled it all as of yesterday. There’s no sense of us going to cross the border because it’s not even worth it considering the current uncertainties.”

— Martino Botoli, Winnipeg health-care worker

“It’s already expensive enough, but this is another thing we have to look out for now. I’ve never really worried about (product labels) but now that’s what I need to do to survive.”

— Mildrate Matanga, social worker

“My family discussed it and we decided to do it a couple days ago. I really don’t think we should be supporting them if they aren’t supporting us.”

— Phoenix Wares, who lives in Lac du Bonnet