Trade, tariffs top Chatham-Kent councillors talk with U.S. counterparts
A representative from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent was part of a Canadian delegation in Philadelphia talking trade, tariffs, and other matters with U.S. counterparts.
Alysson Storey, a councillor for Chatham-Kent, is the vice-chair of the Ontario Caucus for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
Storey was part of the FCM team attending the annual conference for the National Association of Counties over the weekend, which consists of more than 2,000 officials from counties across the U.S.
'If we can learn from the solutions and the challenges they're working on here in the U.S. or vice versa, that benefits all of us,' Stoney said on Saturday.
Speaking to CTV News from the conference, Storey said the meetings and presentations are an opportunity to speak about challenges facing municipalities in both countries.
'What is clear, especially with states that are close to the Canadian border, they're very aware of the tariff impacts,' Storey explained. 'They're already seeing it in manufacturing and agriculture, in border crossings and tourism.'
Ties between Canada and the U.S. have been precarious due to a changing trade landscape, largely fuelled by tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Trump announced a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian imports starting Aug. 1.
Similar to upper levels of Canadian Governments, Storey said their messaging remains tariffs will hurt economies on both sides of the border.
'As the government of proximity, local governments, both here in the states and in Canada, we're the first ones to see impacts on jobs, we're the first ones to see impacts of factory closures, the first ones to see impacts on tourism,' Storey explained.
FCM representatives began a larger dialogue with their U.S. counterparts earlier this year to discuss ongoing challenges.
Storey planned to speak as part of a forum for states around the Great Lakes, as well as talks on rural affairs and agriculture.
'The agriculture piece is huge,' she said. 'That is our primary economic driver in our community as it is in a lot of southwestern Ontario, so farmers have issues with the trade concerns.'
The FCM delegation planned to return home on Sunday.
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