Fox Creek sawmill closure looms as Trump's 50% tariffs set to hit Wednesday

U.S. President Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods, including cement and hockey sticks, are set to take effect just after midnight Wednesday. Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke by phone with Trump on Monday and said Ottawa has a plan to cover "all eventualities," while Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and chief negotiator Janice Charette met U.S. officials in Washington but said their work was not yet done.

The tariffs, imposed under a provision allowing action against countries deemed to discriminate against U.S. products, target irritants including provincial bans on American alcohol, limited U.S. dairy access and Canadian auto import quotas. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only provinces without an alcohol ban.

Conservative natural resources critic Arnold Viersen highlighted the impact in Alberta, pointing to Canfor's permanent closure of its Fox Creek sawmill, which the company blamed on U.S. tariffs and weak market conditions. The closure will eliminate 74 jobs in the northwestern Alberta town of fewer than 1,800 residents. Viersen called on the federal government to negotiate a deal that supports Canadian workers, a sentiment echoed by Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske, who said Canada must be ready to walk away from a bad deal.

The tariffs would also hit Canadian honey exports, of which up to 60 per cent go to the U.S.; the Canadian Beekeepers Federation warned the measure could crash prices and push farms into bankruptcy.