Chow releases city's plan to help Toronto handle U.S. tariffs
Plan includes buy local campaign, property tax deferral program for businesses
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has unveiled the city's plan to help local businesses and workers get through Canada's trade war with the U.S.
At a news conference Monday, alongside her "economic action team," Chow announced a suite of initiatives that include a tax deferral program for industrial properties and the launch of a "love local" campaign to encourage residents to choose Canadian-made goods and services.
"Working together, Torontonians have tackled difficult challenges in the past," Chow said, pointing to the SARS outbreak of 2003 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Each time we emerge stronger," she said. "United, we will do it again."
The plan also includes a previously announced motion to bar American companies from some contracts and prioritize bids from Canadian companies. It also involves directing city staff to buy from Canadian-owned companies for day-to-day spending.
City manager Paul Johnson said that transition away from U.S. suppliers can't happen overnight so the city is leaving some room for nuance.
"We have some areas right now that would be problematic tomorrow to transition away from," he said.
"It's not about saying 'well, we can't,' it's about when."
A CBC Toronto analysis found American companies secured about $210 million worth of competitive contracts awarded by the city over the last two years.
The city will define an American supplier as a company whose headquarters is in the U.S. and has at least 70 per cent of its employees there at the time of the bid submission.
However, subsidiaries of U.S. companies can be considered Canadian for the purposes of city procurement if the subsidiary has permanent offices or production facilities in Canada and at least 70 per cent of the contracted work will be done by employees based in Canada.
If approved by the mayor's executive committee on Wednesday, Chow said these measures will role out over the next 30 days to create a more resilient local economy. "
Impact on Toronto's economy
The plan comes as Canada stares down another round of U.S. tariffs, which U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce on April 2.
Ahead of Monday's announcement, Chow appeared on CNN where she argued the trade war will hurt Americans too given how intertwined the two countries' economies are.
"I don''t think that's what Americans want. They don't want a senseless, hurtful trade war to your closest allies," she said.
"We are friends … we have an economic partnership that is the envy of the world."
A city staff report notes that with Toronto accounting for over half of Ontario's GDP, the impacts of Trump's tariff agenda are already being felt and will intensify.
"Such impacts will challenge the fundamental business model of the provincial and local economies, premised on unfettered access to American markets ensured by a reliable trade partner," the report says.
Pat Tobin, the city's general manager of economic development, said it's too early to say precisely how much the tariffs could impact Toronto's economy, but said there are some signs the city might be better positioned to get through the trade war than other Canadian cities.
"What we do know is Toronto has a highly diversified, resilient economy," Tobin said.
He added that a recent Canadian Chamber of Commerce report ranked Canada's 41 largest cities on their vulnerability to U.S. tariffs placed Toronto at 27 out of 41.
"So, we think that we'll weather it fairly well."
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