‘This is going to affect families’ Manitoba businesses across all sectors weigh options under expected heavy weight of tariffs, anti-U.S. furor By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 6:34 PM CST Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2025 Last Modified: 11:33 PM CST Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2025 Updates

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Already, the trade war declared in Washington and Ottawa has trickled down to Manitoba businesses.

“Reverse tariff” sales, paused investments and plans for American production facilities have been top of mind for local entrepreneurs. Still, many business executives are filled with uncertainty as they await details on the levies being launched from both sides of the border.

The Free Press spoke to several businesses Tuesday.

Retail and hospitality

Baby food, cereal, oranges — all are coming from the United States. Ramsey Zeid is searching for Canadian alternatives.

In certain instances, the Food Fare manager knows he won’t be successful. Florida oranges are Florida oranges. Customer demand for local is holding steady so far, Zeid said.

He’ll keep ordering oranges if people are buying. But if a 25 per cent tariff is tacked on, the fruit will be 25 per cent more expensive on the shelves.

“We’re in a time right now where people are struggling to buy groceries,” Zeid said. “This is going to affect families.”

Kate Holden clocked a drastic decline in American wine sales at the Pourium following U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier tariff threats. She’s not buying alcohol from the country for the time being, she said — but she still has a significant amount in stock.

“We have to filter through what we have,” the Winnipeg wine store owner said, adding she expects it could take a year.

While Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. locations pull American-made goods from sight, the Pourium is keeping its U.S. wines displayed and selling the bottles without markups, for now. Holden called it a “reverse tariff” sale — meant to get rid of the items.

The Portage Avenue shop is shrinking its U.S. wines section; Canadian liquor, among other countries, will be purchased instead, Holden said.

The Manitoba government has contacted some private wine stores regarding U.S. alcohol sales, Premier Wab Kinew said.

“They told us, ‘We’ll pull it off the shelves because we’re not going to be able to sell this stuff,’” Kinew told reporters Tuesday. “I think we’re all seeing that take place in so many retailers, regardless of the sector.”

Tony Siwicki plans to keep American alcohol available at Silver Heights Restaurant — until it runs out. Menus will have to change alongside ingredients and prices, he said.

“Our protein, our produce — everything gets grown in California, Texas, Mexico,” Siwicki said.

Restaurants aren’t able to swallow tariffs, he added. The levies follow COVID-19 pandemic-era closures, related debt accumulation, and higher food and labour costs.

The Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association’s chairman foresees reduced restaurant hours, staff layoffs and eatery closures should tariffs persist. Meantime, he and others are looking for Canadian alternatives.

So is Sam’s Manufacturers Carpet and Flooring. Most of the Winnipeg retailer’s carpet comes from the United States, said admin manager Remy Gonzaga.

“It’s really unfair,” she said of the tariffs. “We are giving (the United States) business, too.”

Jessie Halliburton, co-founder of Sobr Market, expects her company’s U.S. sales will shrink. Still, she expressed sympathy for small American businesses affected by the political climate: “It’s not their fault what’s happening across the border.”

Shopping local is important, she added.

Agriculture

Larry Wegner sold his steer calves last week — roughly a half-year ahead of schedule.

“If these tariffs went away tomorrow, it’ll look like a bad move,” said Wegner, who runs a cattle operation in Virden with his family. “But if (the levies) stay on — the uncertainty was not worth hanging on to.”

He’ll keep his basic cow herd over the summer as usual, he added. Normally, Wegner sells his cattle on the market in the late summertime. He’s anticipating his income per cow to drop amid the trade war. The steer calves, Wegner said, sold for a reasonable price.

The way he sees it, there’ll be less demand for Canadian beef south of the border due to increased prices.

“The problem is, we don’t know enough yet,” Wegner said. “There’s a lot of hearsay and what ifs.”

Many businesses in the agriculture sector have paused investments. The Free Press spoke to a seed distributor on the condition of anonymity; it had shelved nearly $200,000 in equipment purchases due to the political climate.

Seed orders from the U.S. have dried up this year, the owner said. The company had a large order planned for shipment south; as of Tuesday morning, it was unclear whether the U.S.-bound transaction had been cancelled.

Manitoba’s agri-food exports totalled $9.28 billion last year, per Keystone Agricultural Producer data. Forty-six per cent of the goods travelled to the United States.

Manufacturing

Derek Hird has flagged several American locations as possible production sites. Most sales for his Winnipeg tire manufacturing company, Evolution Wheel, come from the United States.

“’Til we see the fine print, I can’t say what’s going to impact us,” Hird said of incoming tariffs. “(And) until we know exactly what kind of programs or support might be available, we’re sort of hanging tight.”

Hird plans to evaluate “the fine print” of the new levies and business supports government offers as soon as possible. From there, he’ll determine what makes sense for his business.

Evolution Wheel’s production wouldn’t fully leave Winnipeg in any scenario, he said from his Notre Dame Avenue office.

“Had we known what the plan was two weeks ago, we could be prepared for today,” he said Tuesday. “Now, rather than being proactive, we’re 100 per cent reactive, and that’s the worst place to be.

“I can’t make a decision with information we don’t have.”

Chris Holbrow sources ingredients locally for Forgotten Flavours’ breads. However, it’s time to get new Cambro buckets — items that come from the United States.

“We’re kind of having to pivot a little bit, because we’re now looking domestically,” the bakery co-owner said.

The problem: he hasn’t found similar buckets made in Canada. Holbrow said he’d seek a Canadian supplier, but ultimately, the product will come from the U.S.

Often, manufacturers source goods from the U.S. they can’t find locally.

Farmery Estate Brewery has checked for Canadian aluminum cans over the past decade; for now, the closest production lies in America, co-owner Chris Warwaruk shared Monday.

Manufacturing accounts for roughly 10 per cent of Manitoba’s GDP.

Bio-sciences 

Chemicals are Manitoba’s second biggest export to the United States, following machinery.

Steven Theriault, chief executive of Cytophage, doesn’t expect his Winnipeg company’s U.S. exports will be slapped with tariffs — yet, at least. The phage-based disinfectants are biomedical in nature.

However, he’s working with an American counterpart to develop a machine for large-scale manufacturing. It can’t be done in Canada, he said.

He’s hoping Ottawa will invest more into productivity throughout the country amid the push to bolster local. Meantime, he intends to “keep moving ahead.”

“The pandering, the (sabre rattling) from our politicians, I don’t pay any attention,” Theriault said. “If I started to knee-jerk react to everything that was going on with them, I would never be able to run my company.”

Trucking and transport

Manitoba’s trucking industry will likely see a slowdown this week, the Manitoba Trucking Association’s leader forecast Monday.

It follows an anecdotal bump in shipments to the U.S. as businesses prepared for tariffs, Aaron Dolyniuk said.

— with files from Carol Sanders

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com