The federal government said Monday it will put another $1.5 billion toward tariff relief in response to the United States expanding the range of businesses its metal tariffs will damage.
The announcement includes the creation of a new $1 billion program under the Business Development Bank of Canada to bolster the manufacturing sector, along with a $500 million top-up to the regional tariff response fund.
The new BDC programming is meant to shore up factories hit by U.S. tariffs affecting exports of products containing steel, aluminum and copper.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on April 2 to strengthen his steel and aluminum tariffs and added copper derivatives.
That has made it more expensive for Canadian manufacturers to export to the U.S. and has added dizzying complexity to the way tariff rates on goods are assessed, sowing confusion among customs brokers and small Canadian firms.
In response, Ottawa will make available three-year, low-interest loans of up to $50 million for the aluminum, steel and copper sectors. The loans don't have to be repaid until after the three-year period is up.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon announced the new measures Monday morning, saying businesses need quick access to liquidity in the short term and medium-term assistance to find new markets for export.
"We're in a trade war. We are on the front lines and the goal is to protect workers and actually keep companies afloat," Joly told a news conference.
"Our goal is really to make sure ultimately that the businesses keep their workforces and that we can help them pivot, and it's not an easy task."
Joly added the government is in talks with softwood and forestry companies about further financial supports.
Monday's news conference was held at the Les Ateliers Beau-Roc dump truck manufacturing facility, on the outskirts of Ottawa. It was attended by several Liberal MPs from ridings hit hard by tariffs, including Hamilton's Lisa Hepfner and Sarnia's Marilyn Gladu.
Dominique O'Rourke, the MP for Guelph — one of the most tariff-exposed regions in Canada — said the number 1 thing affecting businesses in Ontario's manufacturing belt is uncertainty.
"This new interpretation of the section 232 tariffs has really been significant because companies that were exporting under one assumption, things have turned on a dime for them," she said.
"It's a huge challenge for companies to be keeping track of the tariff changes."
O'Rourke sits on the House of Commons industry committee and chairs the Liberal automotive and southwestern Ontario caucuses.
She said large firms have seen their production slow down, while assemblers and fabricators down the supply chain are seeing both shop floor slowdowns and job losses.
The Commons industry committee recently heard testimony from industrial mould makers warning Trump's surprise strengthening of the tariffs in early April could result in Ontario bleeding jobs and losing firms, since factories are unable to pivot on their own.
Representatives of the sector, which is heavily involved in cross-border trade, warned MPs in recent weeks that businesses could shrink, close or quickly leave the country — and any potential recovery would be a long, uphill battle.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
