‘From reliance to resilience’: Carney offers fresh support for steel, lumber industries

The federal government announced a suite or new policies Wednesday to support the embattled steel and lumber industries, the latest measures to shift the Canadian economy away from reliance on the American market.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the measures were designed to support two pillar industries of the Canadian economy that have been rammed this year by United States tariffs directed at Canada and many other countries.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Carney said the Canadian economy is adapting to the new landscape, while shifting “from reliance to resilience.”

“The Canadian steel and lumber industries will always be at the heart of Canada’s competitiveness, our security and our strength.”

Ottawa has responded to those American policies, notably the steep tariffs against key Canadian sectors, by trying to diversify exports away from the U.S. and boost sales within Canada.

While the Canadian economy has showed some resilience in recent months, the targetted industries – steel, auto, aluminum and lumber – have been hit hard as exports to the U.S. have tumbled.

Trade talks between Canada and the U.S. were halted late last month after Ontario ran an anti-tariff ad on American television during the Major League Baseball World Series. The ad, which featured anti-tariff quotes from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, reportedly infuriated U.S. President Donald Trump.

Carney said Wednesday that he spoke to Trump a day earlier but that the conversation produced nothing newsworthy. The two leaders are scheduled to speak in person next week at a World Cup draw event.

The flurry of new measures, which fall into three buckets, include efforts to:

Increase demand for Canadian steel by an estimated $1 billion by limiting foreign steel imports:

• Reducing the tariff rate quota levels to 20 per cent from 50 per cent for steel products from countries with whom Canada doesn’t have a free trade agreement
• Reducing the tariff rate quota levels to 75 per cent of 2024 levels from 100 per cent for steel products from non-CUSMA (the successor to the North American free trade deal)
• Imposing a new 25 per cent tariff on some imported steel products such as wind towers, fasteners and wires
• Using detectors and dedicated steel compliance specialists to tighten borders against foreign steel dumping

Make it easier to build with Canadian steel:

• Subsidizing the cost of moving Canadian steel and lumber within Canada so that interprovincial trade of these products will be cut in half beginning this spring
• Prioritizing projects under Build Canada Homes, a federal program to encourage home construction, that begin within 12 months and use Canadian wood

Protect Canadian workers and businesses: 

• Spending $100 million over two years to support training for employees in various sectors, including steel and lumber, working reduced hours
• Providing $500 million to the Business Development Bank of Canada Softwood Lumber Guarantee Program to support restructuring companies
• Providing $500 million to the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan program to support softwood lumber companies facing liquidity problems

Carney did not provide a total cost for the various new measures to support steel and lumber, but government officials pegged the cost earlier in the day at $146 million. The announcement did not provide any unique support for the auto or aluminum sectors, both of which were also hit by the Trump tariffs.

Many of the measures mark the latest protectionist steps in global trade policy, following the Trump tariffs launched earlier this year.

Those protectionist steps have followed decades of efforts to liberalize international trade, moves that were widely viewed as successful in boosting economic growth.

Leaders of the affected industries unsurprisingly lauded the government’s moves.

Ron Bedard, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, the Hamilton, Ont.-based flat-rolled steel producer, told reporters at the press conference that the government’s moves will help level the playing field and get the Canadian industry to a more secure place. The steel industry has in recent months been asking Ottawa for more protection.

Kurt Niquidet, president of the British Columbia Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC), said he appreciated Ottawa’s recognition that urgent support is needed as a bridge.

National Post

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