The trucks transporting approximately $300 million worth of auto parts daily across the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit continue their usual operations. However, following President Trump’s decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian exports, the mood in Windsor, along with the rest of Canada, has shifted. Canadians are experiencing economic anxiety and anger over their treatment by their neighbor, ally, and largest customer. There is uncertainty regarding Mr. Trump’s motivations and objectives for these tariffs, as well as his comments about potentially annexing Canada as the 51st state.

With the aim of getting the potentially crippling tariffs, along with a 10 percent levy on Canadian oil and gas and some minerals, lifted, politicians, business people, and ordinary Canadians believe that the relationship between the two countries will never return to what it once was. Flavio Volpe, the head of a Canadian auto-parts maker trade group, expressed that his members may start shutting down factories in a matter of days and feels betrayed by the United States. Mr. Volpe also mentioned that both societies have been built on the same values but the man currently in the White House drove over them.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and anxious business leaders across Canada have emphasized the need to focus on ending the tariffs as quickly as possible. forecasts suggest that Canada’s export-dependent economy may enter a recession. While some Canadians drew comparisons to the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of 1930, economists believe that the economic impact will be different as the two countries’ economies are more integrated today.

Aside from oil and gas, Canada’s largest export sector is the auto industry. Mr. Trump suggested that the only way for the sector to avoid tariffs is to move all of its production to the United States. This would require billions of dollars in new investments and abandoning a skilled workforce. Historically, automotive trade has been balanced between the United States and Canada. Parts often cross borders multiple times before ending up in vehicles at a dealer’s showroom.

Parts suppliers will become instantly and deeply unprofitable due to the deductions allowed for tariffs. Most can cover the losses for about a week from their cash reserves. After that, they will have to stop shipments. Many industries may have to lay off workers due to the parts shortage caused by the tariffs. The lumber industry, which has dealt with tariffs for decades, is now facing a situation that

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/world/canada/canada-trump-tariff-shock.html