Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada are making his party anxious ahead of 2026 midterms

Edmonton Journal

08-08-2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Politicians in conservative states most affected by U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods — and Ottawa's targeted retaliatory tariffs against key sectors in Republican strongholds — are increasingly concerned over the economic fallout from Donald Trump's trade agenda, especially with the 2026 midterm elections looming.
Article content
Last Friday, Trump imposed a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods not compliant with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement, adding to existing high duties on steel, aluminum, autos, and copper. Though most Canada-U.S. trade remains USMCA-compliant, businesses dealing in affected goods had largely been waiting to see if tariffs would be lifted. Now, those industries must pass increased costs along to U.S. buyers, pushing prices higher on items ranging from groceries and clothing to cars and farm equipment.
Article content
Article content
Combined with last Friday's weak U.S. jobs report, the trade concerns have GOP lawmakers worried about the political and economic impact ahead of the midterms, but only a handful dare to voice their concerns.
Article content
Article content
'It definitely is indicative of a weakened economy, an economy that's not acting in a robust fashion. I've all along felt like there's a lag between tariffs and actual economic downturn,' Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, told the press this week, adding that retailers have told him they think they will have to raise prices this fall.
Article content
Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran also warned this week of rising costs for consumers and businesses. While noting that tariffs can be good for solving trade barriers, he said 'there's no question tariffs are a tax on the cost of a product.' He also noted that trade uncertainty is bad for business because it 'delays decisions to expand, to hire, to spend money.'
Article content
Article content
Earlier this year, Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator from Kentucky, also railed against Trump's tariffs.
Article content
'With so much at stake globally, the last thing we need is to pick fights with the very friends with whom we should be working with to protect against China's predatory and unfair trade practices,' he said in a statement. He and Sen. Paul, along with Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, also voted in favour of a resolution to undo Trump's 25 per cent tariffs back in the spring, warning of impacts on their state economies and border communities. The Senate narrowly approved the joint resolution, 51-48, but it then died in the House.
Article content
Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, says inflated prices from the tariffs will be felt before the end of the year — and for some items, like clothing, as early as next month with back-to-school shopping. And while Republicans know these impacts are looming, they're not taking steps to mitigate the tariffs.