‘It’s time for us to break up with the U.S.”: Saint John mayor

Saint John, N.B., and the surrounding area is getting ready for the U.S. tariffs.

Saint John, N.B., Mayor Donna Reardon says the arrival of the tariffs marks a “sad day for our strong partnership with our neighbours to the south.”

In a letter released to the public Tuesday afternoon, Reardon addressed the 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods bound for the United States. Several big Saint John companies like Moosehead Brewery and Irving Oil depend on cross-border trade.

A recent article from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce even went as far to say Saint John is the most “tariff-exposed” city in the country.

“These tariffs will have real consequences – from increased costs for essential goods and energy in the U.S., to potential disruptions for local businesses and families,” says Reardon. “Saint John’s port, one of the deepest water ports on the entire East Coast, stands ready to help. We are uniquely positioned to not just endure but grow in this challenging environment.

“I firmly believe that we must come together as a nation to seize the opportunities before us. We must develop a national strategy to open Canadian industries to global markets, remove interprovincial trade barriers, and strengthen our local economies. We have the infrastructure and the innovation to succeed.”

The mayor even went as far as to say it’s time for Canada to “break up” with the U.S. She acknowledges there will be pain coming for her city and region but also sees the moment as a chance to grow.

“I think there’s a real opportunity for Canada, for New Brunswick and for the city of Saint John,” Reardon believes. “We know we have allies across the globe, so why aren’t we working with those partnerships?”

She also mentioned the desire to eliminate trade barriers between provinces to allow for a smooth flow of goods within the country.

It’s a sentiment echoed by the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce CEO Shannon Merrifield. She is happy to see a comprehensive support plan outlined by the province to help businesses through the months ahead.

Premier Susan Holt has said the tariffs could cost up to 6,000 New Brunswick jobs.

When asked what the best thing residents can do to help local businesses at this time, Merrifield says the simplest answer is shop from them.

“It’s something that we’ve done in the past,” says Merrifield, recalling how much residents supported local businesses at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. “I think it has a little bit more umph now and I think that people are going to definitely be turning around the labels and supporting their local purveyors, products, vendors, and suppliers.”

Mrs. Dunster’s, based in Sussex has 20 per cent of all their sales from U.S. markets.

Company co-founder Blair Hyslop says Canadian bakeries overall export $5 billion worth of goods to the United States each year. He wants to know how American consumers will respond to the added costs brought by the tariffs.

“That’s the part we don’t really know, so we’re looking at ways of mitigating some of the impact of tariffs into that market,” says Hyslop. “At the end of the day, some cost will inevitably be passed on to consumers. I don’t think we’re going to lose all of our U.S. business, but we’re likely to use some, so we really don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see how consumers react.”

He says the U.S. baking industry does not have the capacity to keep up with consumer demand and it relies on their neighbours to the north.

“Most northern U.S. states largest export market for food products is Canada,” Hyslop says. “The food industry overall is going to be impacted negatively on both sides of the border.”

Maple syrup producers haven’t had much time to focus on the tariffs as they’re busy getting trees ready for the season.

David Briggs, owner of Briggs Maples just outside Moncton, says producers aren’t thrilled with the tariff news as a large amount of their product is bound for the U.S.

He says if U.S. markets don’t want to pay the extra cost caused by the tariffs, it could result in too much maple syrup in the local market. This could lead to lower prices, which may be good for the consumer, but not producers.

“Maple syrup is expensive to make,” says Briggs. “Therefore, it’s hard to sell it for any less amount of money because then the producer cannot justify making a living or a profit from it. It’s going to be challenging to see what happens.”

Briggs adds much is unknown when it comes to the impact of the tariffs, but now that they have arrived, the answers won’t be far away.

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