New Windsor-Essex tariff task force to meet Tuesday to discuss asks of government
Windsor is the third most tariff-vulnerable city in Canada, according to a report from the Canadian Chamber
A new task force aimed at addressing the impact of trade disruption on the Windsor-Essex region will meet Tuesday to discuss its asks of the federal and provincial governments as the United States continues to threaten and impose tariffs on Canadian exports.
The Windsor-Essex Economic Trade Task Force began meeting informally approximately two weeks ago and formally announced its launch on Feb. 13.
Its goals include serving as an information conduit between businesses, industry associations, non-profits and governments, articulating the needs of the business community, and potentially playing a role in the administration of any relief packages from the government, said Ryan Donally, the president and CEO of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce, which spearheaded the group.
"We did something not dissimilar in this region back during COVID," Donally said.
"At that time there was a great degree of uncertainty, a great degree of not knowing what's next. … right now, I think it's a similar-type feeling where we don't know what's going on. We don't know what's next. We're doing our absolute best to be as prepared as possible, but we don't know what that will be."
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum starting March 12.
Windsor vulnerable to tariff impact
He has also threatened a 10 per cent tariff on energy exports and a 25 per cent tariff on all other Canadian exports, both of which have been paused while the countries work on a border security deal.
In addition, Trump has threatened tariffs of up to 100 per cent on Canadian-made automobiles.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce released a report on Feb. 11 that identified Windsor as the third most tariff-vulnerable city in Canada behind St. John, NB and Calgary.
"Quite honestly, we would be the most exposed CMA in all of Canada were you to remove the oil impact," Donally said.
"Everything is reliant on both the automotive manufacturing and …on our agricultural communities, if you think all the way down to the folks that are providing massage therapy or chiropractic, our food, you know?"
The new task force includes representation from the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Association, the Canadian Association of Mold Makers and the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association, he said.
It also includes Invest WindsorEssex, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, WorkForce Windsor Essex, WEtech Alliance, the City of Windsor, Essex County and some individual businesses.
The director of business retention and expansion at Workforce WindsorEssex said she plans to use Tuesday's meeting in part to advocate for support for small and medium-sized businesses.
"Not every company has, you know, 1,000 employees or 700 employees," Wendy Stark said.
"Not that this is not important to them. It is. But there are the companies that have, you know, 25 to 30 employees, and there are a lot of those. and it's a little bit more challenging for them."
Stark is also encouraging government and industry to search for other markets, she said, and she is encouraging businesses to apply for Ottawa's CanExport program, which helps small and medium-sized enterprises break into new markets.