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CBC
10-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ontario's mining sector caught up in tariff uncertainty
Social Sharing Ontario's mining industry association says it's unclear whether the latest 30-day reprieve on U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods will apply to the province's minerals. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Canadian and Mexican goods that are "compliant" with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) would not face 25 per cent tariffs in his country until April 2. Priya Tandon, the president of the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), said the province's mineral trade with the U.S. falls under a different agreement, which makes the situation more uncertain. "We're still trying to find out more details," she told CBC News on Friday. "And regardless, given that things are changing by the hour… it's just important that we continue to push to strengthen at home first." The OMA says that in 2023 Ontario's mineral exports were valued at $64 billion. Fifty-seven per cent of those exports went to the United States, at a value of $42 billion. But that makes the mining industry less reliant on the U.S. than some other sectors. More than 90 per cent of Canada's steel exports, for example, go south of the border. A recent report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce listed Sudbury as Canada's most resilient bigger city in the face of U.S. tariffs, because its mineral exports are destined to a wide number of countries. "I think it's a reflection of just how diverse the sector is with a diverse range of resources, whether it's gold or base metals, iron, platinum, group metals," Tandon said. Critical minerals bargaining chip In an interview with CBC's Front Burner, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said critical minerals are the country's most important bargaining chip in the face of U.S. tariffs. "While energy, potentially, is a card, I actually think the even more dramatically useful card is critical minerals," Wilkinson said. "The Americans need a whole range of those from us." Tandon said, for example, that the U.S. only has one nickel mine, located in Michigan. "In 2022 ... the US imported 130,000 tonnes of nickel, 70 per cent of which was refined in Sudbury at Vale operations," she said. Nickel is a critical mineral and is an important component in the production of stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries. Without supply from Canada, the U.S. would need to rely more on countries like China and Russia for certain critical minerals. Tandon said the OMA is asking the federal government to declare the mining sector a strategic priority. "That will help us build more mines and streamline permitting and provide more clarity on consultation and hopefully provide a lot more investment in the upstream mining and processing side of the supply chain, which is something that we need to continue to see," she said. Gold less impacted by tariffs Some minerals are also more shielded than others in the face of U.S. tariffs. Bryan Wilson is the vice-president and general manager of the Côté Gold Mine, located near Gogama, in between Sudbury and Timmins. "We actually sell to a third party in Canada. So we don't actually export ourselves," he said. Wilson said the trade war between Canada and the U.S. will affect the mine's operating costs, however, since they purchase some equipment and chemicals from American suppliers. The mine's fleet of autonomous trucks to haul ore, for example, is made by Caterpillar, an American heavy equipment manufacturer. Wilson said the mine is looking to work with more Canadian suppliers in the face of tariffs. He added that current gold prices, at around $4,172 per ounce, provide some relief from rising operational costs.
CBC
04-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ontario's forestry sector can't withstand more tariffs, says industry association
Northern Ontario's forestry industry says it welcomes a 30-day reprieve from more U.S. tariffs, which it says could decimate the sector. "I can assure you there is not one member company in our organization that could withstand a persistent and prolonged 25 per cent tariff at the border," said Ian Dunn, president and CEO of the Ontario Forest Industries Association. Dunn said a global tariff on Canadian exports to the United States, in addition existing tariffs on softwood lumber would be unsustainable for sawmills and the pulp and paper industry, which relies on those mills. In August, the U.S. raised tariff rates on imports of Canadian softwood lumber products from eight per cent to 14.5 per cent. "By this time next year, they should be around 30 per cent. So combined 40 to 60 per cent duties on softwood lumber ? That's effectively going to wipe out all U.S. shipments," Dunn said. Dunn said it's a challenge for the forestry industry to reduce its dependence on the U.S. due to proximity. But he said there are things that can be done in Canada to increase domestic demand in case of future tariffs. Some suggestions from the industry include changes to the building code to allow for taller buildings using lumber, and more biomass energy projects, essentially producing electricity by burning wood. Mining suppliers at risk Priya Tandon, president of the Ontario Mining Association, said smaller mining suppliers would be most at risk from tariffs on Canadian exports. "The space is so integrated with the U.S. and there'd be increased costs on both sides," she said. Don Bertrand, the owner of X-Glo North America, a Sudbury-based company that exports LED strip lighting for mines and tunnels, said his company is already being affected by U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports. That's because his products are manufactured in China. "It's quite concerning for a newer startup, in business for five years," Bertrand said. Bertrand said around 70 per cent of his customers are based in the U.S. "A lot of the U.S., they don't understand the whole tariff and how it's actually going to affect them," he said. "A lot of them think that the Canadian companies or the government are the ones paying these tariffs. They don't realize that it's the end user of the product that's going to actually take the brunt of that new tariff rate." For his customers in Canada, Bertrand said concern about tariffs has weakened the Canadian dollar, which makes purchases more expensive for them. "We quoted that project [in Montreal] last, I think it was November, and we had to re-quote it last week with an additional four to five per cent, just because of our dollar getting weaker," he said. For Ontario's mining industry as a whole, Tandon said a 30 day reprieve on tariffs is welcome, but the sector needs to expand more to other markets to reduce the impact of any potential tariffs on U.S. exports.
