Calgary's Scotia Place arena project continues to dodge costly tariff consequences
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The specific tariff numbers have fluctuated since U.S. President Donald Trump's first move in March, but the U.S. currently has a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, though the measures affect only a small fraction of total exports — generally manufactured goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
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Trump has also imposed separate tariffs on steel, aluminum and vehicles.
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'We're out to tender on some fairly big pieces of the puzzle right now, and understand the tariff risk,' he said.
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'But it is literally managing it on a day-to-day basis — we talk about tariffs every day.'
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Scotia Place broke ground in July 2024 and below-ground construction was completed in April. It's expected to open in fall 2027.
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Hunter said the $926-million arena project is always looking to source from Canada whenever possible but is willing to purchase from the U.S. if it will lower overall costs. One current example, he said, is seating for the facility — a major procurement item still being negotiated.
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'Two of the four potential bidders are U.S.-based, and their products are made in the U.S., so you know again it's almost a tender-by-tender scenario that we have to evaluate,' he said.
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The bigger unknown, says Hunter, is how Canada may react to the latest increase in tariffs, which took effect last week.
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Still, he is hopeful that Mark Carney's government can secure a more favourable outcome for Canadian industries.
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'Our prime minister feels that there is a deal to be done, and it's hopefully going to leave us in a better situation than we are in today.'
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Major projects like Scotia Place typically require a thorough risk analysis that allows stakeholders to prepare for potential adverse events, says Janak Yasantha Ruwanpura, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Calgary.
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