As tariff battle looms, Sudbury city council wants the right to buy Canadian

A motion from Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre was passed at Tuesday's council meeting seeking to remove barriers and allow the city to prioritize buying goods and services from Canadian companies. (Photo from video)

A motion from Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre was passed at Tuesday’s council meeting seeking to remove barriers and allow the city to prioritize buying goods and services from Canadian companies.

The motion is in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has talked about imposing 25 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods.

Trump has also said he wants to force Canada to become the 51st state by applying economic pressure.

“The tariffs that are being proposed by the U.S. government against Canada will damage a trade relationship that benefits both countries and as I have expressed previously, will have real consequences for our mining sector, our workers, and our local economy,” Lefebvre said in a news release Tuesday.

Prioritize Canadian companies

He wants to petition the province and federal government “to work collaboratively with municipalities to provide clearer guidance and remove barriers that prevent cities from prioritizing Canadian companies when making procurement decisions.”

“Greater Sudbury will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure repairs and new construction, including some of our community’s largest projects,” he said.

“However, under current regulations, municipalities have limited flexibility to ensure these investments directly benefit Canadian businesses and workers.”

‘Team Canada’

He would like a ‘Team Canada’ approach to ensure “public investments create lasting benefits here at home.”

Lefebvre also called on Canadians to support Canadian-made products and services whenever they spend their money.

The motion also called on city staff to “investigate alternative products, supplies and materials to current municipal purchasing from United States suppliers and take the necessary steps to develop a structured framework that enables the prioritization of products, supplies and materials from countries other than the United States.”

Practical approach

At Tuesday’s meeting, interim CAO Kevin Fowke said CAOs from several cities met recently and agreed they want a “practical” approach to the issue.

While export tariffs won’t really affect the city, retaliatory tariffs “might have our municipal purchases … being more expensive moving forward.”

The CAOs are hoping the federal government won’t place new tariffs on certain U.S. imports that the city can’t get anywhere else – some roofing materials, for example.

Lefebvre said the situation is constantly changing as the March 1 deadline for the tariffs nears.

“These conversations will be ongoing on a weekly basis,” he said.

“The situation is very fluid … we have to be ready.”

The motion was approved unanimously.