The CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge says the region will be able to withstand the current U.S. tariff situation, having already navigated previous crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He adds that launching a new economic task force will help.
On Wednesday morning, Trevor Lewington and SouthGrow executive director Peter Casurella announced the creation of the Economic Resilience Task Force. The initiative brings together several community partners to address industry concerns, support businesses and work with different levels of government to navigate what Lewington calls a “trade war that we didn’t choose.”
“This coalition of organizations is aligned around a vision to strengthen and diversify the economy of southwest Alberta while building resilience in the business community to withstand and thrive through disruption to protect our quality of life,” Lewington said.
He noted that the region had a successful economic recovery task force during the pandemic, which helped lobby all three levels of government for policy changes, sponsored projects and provided training and workshops for business owners.
“The intent here is to coordinate resources,” he said.
Broad scope of work
Lewington said the task force’s work will be wide-ranging because the challenges businesses face are diverse. Industries based in Lethbridge and southern Alberta have unique needs, and discussions with various levels of government will be necessary to address them, he said.
He added that some businesses will require targeted support, including training on how to properly fill out customs forms and use the correct trade codes.
“One code will mean you’re subject to a tariff, and another code will mean you’re not,” he said. “So, we want to make sure Lethbridge businesses have the information they need to make informed decisions, but also actually go through the mechanics of how to get through this situation.”
Lewington said the tariff situation is changing rapidly. At one point on Tuesday, there were fears the tariffs would double, but just hours later, a U.S. trade representative suggested there could be changes that would provide relief for Canada.
Over-reliance on U.S. trade
Casurella echoed Lewington’s concerns and said the situation has highlighted how businesses in the region have become overly reliant on trade with the U.S. because of the region’s proximity to the border.
“We’ve been talking for decades about diversifying our trade and exports and the need to do that,” Casurella said. “The reality is that it’s harder to do that than it is to just do business as usual.
“I know the discussions around the board of directors for the SouthGrow Regional Initiative have been that this needs to be a wake-up call to proactively work on diversifying our export and trade ties with other areas of the world and to move our commodities and our processed products overseas to new markets and to lean into that diversification.”
He said even if the tariffs were lifted immediately, pursuing diversification would still be worthwhile.
“You could say even if the tariffs go away by 5 o’clock, you’re still looking at diversification,” he said.
Regional impact
The task force’s work will impact and support more than 40 communities in southern Alberta. Seven additional organizations are involved, including the Lethbridge and District Chamber of Commerce, the Lethbridge Construction Association, Lethbridge Polytechnic, Tourism Lethbridge and the University of Lethbridge.
The task force is also receiving support from the City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge County and Prairies Economic Development Canada.
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