2 days ago
‘It's a real rough spot to be in': SW Ontario manufacturers grimace in face of hiked US tariffs
Machinery and workers are seen at Algoma Steel Inc., in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Friday, April 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Southwestern Ontario is not the steel hub of Canada, but multiple industries, large and small, rely on the product as a raw material to build products shipped to the U.S.
ETBO, south of Aylmer, is one. The automotive parts and supply manufacturer is a big buyer of both. Roughly 40 per cent originates in the United States.
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Steel beam marked "Canada steel." (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)
'A million pounds of steel a week. A couple of million pounds of aluminum a month,' confirmed president & CEO Etienne Borm.
'So, we're significant consumers of this product.'
And this product is under siege by U.S. Tariffs. Born said the trickle-down effect is hurting Southwestern Ontario.
'It's another, you know, attack on our industry and our country. It can be devastating to the Canadian economy. It's a real rough spot to be in right now.'
As local firms and their employees cope with uncertainty and anxiety, Borm contends that American consumers are bearing the greatest impact of tariffs.
'It's the US taxpayer who pays it. I'm not going to pay it. Our margins don't allow for absorption of that.'
Some who rely on steel for their livelihoods believe the fear of tariffs may be driving up prices of domestic steel more than is justified.
Kevin Lansdowne, who has operated a small steel fabricating shop for nearly a decade, has noticed prices trending up.
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Kevin Lansdowne operates a small steel fabricating shop. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)
He states it has become difficult to predict prices and expenses.
'It's hard to quote a job, and then you get the go-ahead on the job, and then you find out your steel prices have gone up. It's like kind of like Covid times, you know, it's unpredictable. Do I stock up? Do I purge? I'm not sure there is a right answer for that.'
However, Borm is confident that a solution is forthcoming. It is just a question of when.
'I personally believe that there's going to be some sort of negotiated deal in here and that, you know, that this is leverage in bargaining. '
A sentiment we heard from a half-dozen more steel consumers, suppliers and manufacturers in the region. All are hopeful that uncertainty will end.
'What goes down will come up again. And I see a great future for Canada because I think we're pretty abundant in resources,' shared an optimistic Lansdowne.
