Ontario to Shut Out U.S.-based Firms Seeking Public Sector Contracts During Trump’s Trade War
Construction cranes on the Toronto skyline. Photo by booledozer, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
In addition to retaliatory tariffs launched in response to Donald Trump’s inflammatory, whiplash-inducing trade war, earlier this month Ontario Premier Doug Ford pledged to ban United States–based contractors—including engineering firms and consultants—from bidding on roughly $140 billion in infrastructure projects planned for Canada’s most populous province. Per the CBC’s reporting, this includes major transportation initiatives such as highways, tunnels, and mass transit projects across Ontario as well as the construction of hospitals and jails. It’s unclear if U.S.-headquartered AEC firms with Canadian offices will be impacted and Ford did not explicitly mention banning contracts for architectural services provided by U.S. studios.
“U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in revenues,” said Ford. “They only have President Trump to blame.”
“We won't award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” added Ford, who, as the recently reelected firebrand leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party, was initially supportive of Trump—that is, until the latter began his stock market–roiling trade attacks on Canada and Mexico (not to mention his incessant mentions of annexing Canada, a sovereign state and longstanding member of the Commonwealth realm).
In addition to Ford’s plan to lock U.S. companies out of provincial infrastructure contracts, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has announced similar measures for the city as part of a 10-point action plan crafted in response to Trump's “hurtful” cross-border trade war. As reported by the Financial Post, Chow’s administration has proposed amendments to the city’s procurement bylaw, which, among other things, will award construction contracts for municipal projects under a certain budget exclusively to Canadian companies. Chow also revealed plans for the creation of an industrial property tax deferral program that will allow eligible Toronto businesses impacted by the tariffs to defer payment for six months.
Joining across-the-board tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico (that have since been paused), Trump more recently announced on March 12 flat 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from all countries, with no exemptions. In addition to these materials, a potential additional tariff on softwood lumber—a backbone of the Canadian economy—has sent shockwaves through the U.S. homebuilding industry. If it were to take effect, the combined tariff rate would reach nearly 40 percent for Canadian lumber imports. According to the latest estimates released by the National Association of Home Builders, tariffs against construction materials imported from Canada, Mexico, and China will elevate the cost of building a single-family house in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000. Retaliatory tariffs will have a similar, pace-slowing impact on homebuilding in Canada, which, like its southern neighbor, is in the throes of a housing crisis.
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