Joint Statement from Business Council of Manitoba, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, and The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce on the State of Canada-U.S. Trade
Manitoba’s business community is calling for a unified Team Canada approach following the breakdown of Canada-U.S. trade negotiations late Friday.
We commend Prime Minister Mark Carney and support the federal government’s decision to step away from the table. Choosing no deal over a weak deal required resolve and was better than accepting terms that would not have served Canada’s long-term economic interests. Now, our priority as a country must be to remain united and minimize the economic impacts that follow.
New 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods and the uncertainty surrounding them are already affecting businesses across the country. They disrupt supply chains, lower production demand, slow investment, put jobs at risk, and make it harder for businesses to plan for the future. Economic growth deteriorates, and businesses and people across Canada suffer the consequences.
But the answer is a unified front, not a fractured one. While each province and territory has its own interests, Canada will be strongest when government, community, and business leaders present a coordinated, unified voice focused on the long-term economic interests of the entire country.
For Manitoba businesses, what matters now is a response that strengthens Canada as one economy. We must act with haste to remove the remaining barriers to trade within our own country, opening new markets for Canadian businesses, strengthening our supply chains and creating the conditions for businesses to invest and grow here at home.
Today, Business Council of Manitoba, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, and The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce will represent the interests of Manitoba businesses in a meeting of Manitoba’s U.S. Trade Council. We will continue working together and advocating at every level of government as Canada navigates this ongoing trade conflict.
