The CEO of the Lethbridge and District Chamber of Commerce says for some time now it has felt like a yo-yo situation when it comes to potential U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Cyndi Crane says the 30-day pause announced Monday on U.S. tariffs gives Canadian businesses a chance to plan for what they will do if U.S. President Donald Trump eventually does implement the 25 per cent tariffs. She says an example of this is companies can start to look for Canadian options of items they may regularly get south of the border.
Crane says the situation has also opened the conversation for increasing and improving interprovincial relationships in Canada. She says a good place for this push to start is by reaching out to the local chamber.
“For example, we have this policy that our chamber just passed on Alberta’s role in enhancing interprovincial collaboration. So when we have organizations that reach out to us on the local side of things, then we’ll reach out to our provincial partners or our federal partners and see what other organizations are looking into things,” Crane says.
Crane says for consumers this is another opportunity to support local businesses and help grow the local economy.
“We’ve faced this situation before during COVID, or even most recently during the postal strike. This is another opportunity for us to get to know our community, get in those stores, fill up those carts so to speak, and support local.”
