‘30 days to act with speed’

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Canada is in an economic crisis — and it’s time for reform, the head of Canada’s chamber network asserted Wednesday in Winnipeg.

Candace Laing, chief executive of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, called on the federal government to recall Parliament while delivering a speech at the Fairmont Winnipeg.

Her comments came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump paused a sweeping 25 per cent tariff planned for Canadian imports. He agreed to halt the levy for at least 30 days.

“We need to take these 30 days to act with speed,” Laing later told reporters. “(We need) to put measures in place to make sure we can address what’s really needing to be focused on.”

It’s a crucial period for Canada to take action on internal trade barriers, red tape, taxation and infrastructure for exporting, Laing relayed. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament after announcing he’d step down from his position. Parliament is slated to resume March 24.

Business leaders have paused investments and questioned their futures amid uncertainty from both Washington and Ottawa, Laing noted.

“We are losing our minds on (this) 25 per cent tariff scenario,” she said.

A 25 per cent tariff — which still looms — could slash Canada’s GDP by 2.6 per cent, Laing relayed. It follows decades of snowballing integration between the two countries under free trade agreements.

Laing is pushing for Canada to become more self-reliant.

“Doesn’t it make us all angry that our well-being is at the whim of a social post or at the stroke of a pen?” she asked a crowd at a Manitoba Chambers of Commerce breakfast. “Our livelihoods and perhaps our sovereignty hang in the balance of that? That’s not OK.”

Her voice joins a tide of Canadians seeking more economic trade within their home country — and in countries outside the U.S. — amid Trump’s re-election.

Premier Wab Kinew confirmed Wednesday that Manitoba is considering opening trade offices across the globe.

“There’s an active conversation about that next office,” Kinew said.

He previously estimated a springtime opening for Manitoba’s trade office in Washington, D.C. The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce has been advocating for more trade outposts.

“We need to be going down that path,” said chamber president Chuck Davidson.

He pointed to Saskatchewan, which has such sites in Asia, India and Europe.

Both Davidson and Laing stressed Manitoba, and Canada in general, must do more to keep a good relationship with American trading partners.

Meanwhile, now is the time to reduce internal trade barriers, Laing contended. It’s easier for some businesses to trade with European nations than the province next door, she added.

She highlighted interprovincial differences in trucking regulations and job credentials. At least four per cent of Canada’s GDP is left on the table annually due to Canada-made barriers, she said.

Interprovincial trade barriers could be undone as premiers unite in a ‘Team Canada’ approach, Laing said. Premiers have exhibited a largely united front while appealing to stop U.S. tariffs.

Manitoba is a leader in reduced trade barriers, Davidson said. The keystone province is part of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement alongside British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Laing wants more provinces to join the partnership, or something similar.

She called the Canadian Free Trade Agreement the Canadian “Not Free” Trade Agreement for all its exemptions.

Laing gave a quick history lesson Wednesday to explain the current political climate. U.S. president William McKinley introduced tariffs in the 1890s, which bolstered the federal government’s coffers.

“Today, if you have first term tax cuts from 2017 that you want to maintain … and you have a problematic deficit in your country, this kind of looks like an interesting trade policy strategy,” Laing told a crowd of Manitoba politicians and business leaders.

“Your friends are your biggest sources for that revenue race.”

Trump has surrounded himself with loyalists; logic is “towards the bottom” of the list, Laing said.

In the 1890s, the U.S. dropped tariffs and returned to reciprocal agreements because Americans were shouldering the costs.

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Many Americans do not want tariffs implemented, noted André Brin, chief executive of World Trade Centre Winnipeg. The organization has spoken with some of its 45 U.S. sister centres.

“They are all equally dedicated to trade and to favouring cross-border business,” Brin said.

Review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement comes next year, Laing warned event attendees.

— with files from Tyler Searle

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.