Statement: U.S. Tariffs and what it means for Abbotsford businesses

In Abbotsford, this hits close to home. We are Canada’s agricultural capital, with a strong manufacturing sector and a growing aerospace and aviation cluster. Our businesses buy, sell and move goods across this border every day, and we continue to be the most exposed community in British Columbia to the impacts of these tariffs..

For a small business, a 50 per cent tariff isn’t something you simply absorb. It can mean losing a customer overnight, putting an investment on hold, or having to make very difficult decisions about jobs.

That’s why small and medium enterprises, like our members, need to be at the centre of Canada’s response, and diversification efforts. They drive our economy, employ our neighbours and anchor our communities, but they have the least room to absorb another major cost shock. Federal support must move quickly and actually reach the businesses taking the hit.

Canada also needs to play the long game and become more competitive. We need to tear down internal trade barriers, build the infrastructure that gets Canadian products to market, find new customers around the world and make it easier to invest and grow here at home.

There is no question that Canada must stand up for its economic interests. But the end goal has to be a stable and workable trading relationship with our largest customer.”

Right now, our focus at the Abbotsford Chamber is on the businesses behind these numbers, our valued members that deliver for the Canadian economy. We want to hear what this means for their orders, their costs and their employees, and we will make sure those realities are heard by government.”