Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 8, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A6 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM THE HEAD of Wow Hospitality says he misspoke Thursday, amid rapidly changing tariff news, meaning 529 Wellington and its sister restaurants will not put U.S. liquor back on their menus just yet. Roughly $500,000 worth of American alcohol is boxed up. The move began in protest as U.S. President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Can- adian imports Tuesday. Doug Stephen, president of Wow Hospitality, spoke to the Free Press Thursday shortly after word broke that the U.S. would pause 25 per cent tariffs on some Canadian imports. He hadn’t yet learned that Manitoba had decid- ed to continue to keep American liquor off Mani- toba Liquor Mart shelves. Premier Wab Kinew signed an order to remove such drinks from the Crown corporation’s stores Tuesday; the order is continuing until all tar- iff threats are dropped, the premier confirmed Thursday. “As it stands today, we haven’t heard yet that they’ve lifted that embargo,” Stephen said Friday afternoon. “So we haven’t gone ahead and re- stocked our shelves.” Wow Hospitality will wait for the province to make the first move, Stephen said. Wow Hospitality is the umbrella company for six restaurants including 529 Wellington and Peasant Cookery. Forty per cent of the wine on 529 Wellington’s usual drinks menu is sourced from the United States. Pulling the liquor is “major” for the business, Stephen said this week. He’d like interprovincial trade barriers to be removed to ease access to al- cohol made in other provinces. “If nothing else, what this move by Donald Trump has done is it’s galvanized us as a coun- try,” Stephen said. “Whenever possible, we want to protect Can- adian jobs, we want to protect the Canadian econ- omy and, of course, we’re hoping (this trade war) doesn’t drag on.” gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com NEWS I TOP NEWS SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2025 MANITOBA’S “Steeltown” may be the first community in the province to take a hit in the Canada-U.S. trade war after President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum take ef- fect Wednesday. People in Selkirk — a city of 15,000 with a steel industry that employs 800 — are getting nervous, said MLA Rick Perchotte, who’s lived there 40 years. “They’re extremely concerned that everything they’ve worked for could be lost very quickly in a very short period of time, which may cause them to look in other countries for employment and having to turn their back on Selkirk and Manitoba,” the Progressive Conserva- tive MLA said Friday. While the federal government rolled out a $6.5 billion aid package to support Canadian businesses through the trade war on Friday, the provincial govern- ment hasn’t said how it plans to support Manitoba workers, Perchotte said. People employed by the steel indus- try and connected businesses in Selkirk need answers quick, he said. “The people that I’m speaking with have told me they have not heard any plans from anybody,” said the MLA who met Friday with some of the 400- plus employees of the Gerdau steel mill, which produces material used for snow- plow blades, forklifts and elevator parts. “The uncertainty, it keeps rolling downhill,” Perchotte said. “They do not know of any strategic plans other than, ‘we are going to fight these tariffs’ and ‘everybody keep their heads up.’” Premier Wab Kinew has, so far, an- nounced a three-month deferral of pay- roll and retail sales taxes for impacted businesses, joined other provinces in pulling U.S. booze off of provincially owned liquor-store shelves and draped a giant Canadian flag over the front of the Manitoba Legislative Building. The March 20 provincial budget will include “actions to combat tariffs,” a government media bulletin said Friday. Economic Development, Investment and Trade Minister Jamie Moses said Friday that although there’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to Trump’s tariff war, he’s not hearing concerns about layoffs from the Selkirk steel in- dustry and labour leaders he met with this week. “That’s not the message they’re say- ing right now,” Moses said in an inter- view. “This is exactly why we’ve been plan- ning and preparing for this for such a long time — so that we can have the ability to understand the impacts that tariffs might have and how we, as a provincial government, can work to support those jobs and… make sure that we keep those in Manitoba.” The payroll tax deferral is one of the tariff counter-measures that will help businesses “to keep some of that cash flow for operations going,” Moses said. Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson said he’s confident the federal and provincial governments will do right by Selkirk and its steel industry when Trump’s tar- iff war arrives there Wednesday. “I’ve got a lot of respect for our prov- incial government. I’ve got a lot of re- spect for the premier and his ministers, as I do for the other premiers in Can- ada,” Johannson said Friday. “I have faith that the federal government and the provincial governments are doing their best to try to bring this to a swift end.” Johannson was in office in 2018 when Trump — in his initial term as presi- dent — imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel. “There were no layoffs at the mill,” he said. “The business continued and, within a year, the tariffs were off. I’m hoping they’re going to be off a lot soon- er.” Perchotte said much has changed since 2018. “It’s a different financial landscape with high interest rates and people are already feeling pressed with afford- ability issues,” the member for Selkirk said. “Some of them are saying they bought homes, they purchased new cars. They know that if they face a layoff from the steel mill that they cannot sustain the payments that they have. They’ll have to look for work elsewhere.” carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Tariff fears growing in Manitoba’s ‘Steeltown’ CAROL SANDERS Selkirk ‘extremely concerned’: MLA JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Since U.S. President Donald Trump started a trade war with Canada, a deserted-town feeling has returned to the border crossing at Emerson. MALAK ABAS WHILE less than 10 per cent of Winnipeg industries may be exposed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, economic uncertainty is higher than it’s ever been and is taking a toll, city council’s finance committee heard Friday. Six per cent of the Winnipeg economic region’s GDP across all industries is at risk of being exposed to Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada, and less than one per cent could be hit by the 10 per cent energy tariff, according to a presentation led by City of Winnipeg senior econo- mist Paul Beckta. The economic region includes both Winnipeg and Headingley. Out of the 41 major cities in Canada, Winnipeg is ranked the 38th lowest in export tariff exposure, lower than other cities, including Regina and Sas- katoon. Calgary is one of the cities expected to be most impacted, due to its oil and energy industries. “Winnipeg, on a perspective relative to exports, is much less exposed,” Beckta said after Friday’s standing policy committee on finance and develop- ment. “On a relative basis, we’re better positioned.” Beckta cautioned the numbers should be taken as an explanation of risk, keeping in mind that the American tariff targets have shifted day to day. Eighty-three per cent of Winnipeg’s GDP is ser- vice-based, including retail, wholesale trade and transportation, most of which would not be impact- ed by tariffs. About five per cent of jobs in Winnipeg’s econom- ic region could be impacted by tariffs, largely with- in the manufacturing industry. However, percentages don’t tell the full story. Interim city CAO Matt Dryburgh said Trump’s flip-flopping has been rocket fuel for an overall sense of uncertainty in the business community. According to data presented to the finance com- mittee and sourced from the Economic Policy Un- certainty Index — an academic study that uses major newspapers to determine the level of uncer- tainty being felt by people in different countries — Trump’s threats have spiked uncertainty to an all-time high across the country, even higher than what was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. That uncertainty could turn into pullbacks in employment or hesitation to invest in Manitoba or across Canada. “People don’t know what’s happening, quite lit- erally, from one day to the next, and that’s having a measurable impact on businesses, and businesses’ decisions to invest, in businesses’ decisions to ex- pand,” Dryburgh said. “It’s really the fear of the unknown weighing heavily on many businesses.” The numbers don’t include the effects outside of the Winnipeg economic region; tariffs on steel are set to begin next week, which could heavily impact Selkirk. “The macro numbers are comforting, to an ex- tent, but we have to keep in mind that it’s going to be hard, on potentially, on a lot of companies and a lot of people,” Dryburgh said. Finance committee chair Coun. Jeff Browaty noted some capital projects could be at risk because of the tariffs. The $135-million water meter renew- al project, which was approved in 2024’s capital budget and would replace over 200,000 meters, is an example. “We heard today about our water meters, most of the providers are American… a 25 per cent import tariff would certainly have a dramatic impact on the cost of proceeding with that project,” said Bro- waty (North Kildonan). The City of Winnipeg has approximately $8.5 mil- lion in annual contracts with U.S.-based companies, about half of which provide software and are not impacted by tariffs. The water and waste department has about $6 million in annual costs with U.S. suppliers, and an- other $32 million in purchases, including chemicals for treating water and specialized equipment, made either directly or indirectly from U.S. suppliers. About $3.4 million of those purchases could be im- pacted. The finance committee voted Friday to receive monthly update presentations on tariff impacts for the next three months. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Winnipeg less threatened than other cities, but worries remain, economist reports Ghost town U.S.A. T HE long lines of passenger and commercial vehicles at the Canada-U.S. border south of Emerson had just started to return after the desolation of the pandemic. “Trucks would be lined up by the dozens, some- times by the hundreds, and that’s standard down here,” said Simon Resch, owner of the Emerson Duty Free shop, on Friday. But now, ever since U.S. President Donald Trump started a trade war, which sparked patriot- ism north of the border and a rallying cry to shun the States, the all-too-familiar deserted-town feel- ing has returned. The duty-free store, which relies on southbound traffic, has experienced a massive drop in sales. “Now, it’s literally like a ghost town. I have never seen the highway and this border as quiet as it has been this week.” The difference this time is the decrease of truck traffic. “The absence of the (semi) trucks is eerie,” he said. In 2023, cross-border commercial traffic at the Emerson-Pembina port of entry was worth $31 billion. In August, passenger flow finally returned to pre-pandemic levels. The Trump administration’s chaotic impos- ition of tariffs and corresponding anti-American sentiment in Canada, including a boycott of travel south of the border, has destabilized that progress. The Manitoba Trucking Association said its members feel the pinch. Aaron Dolyniuk, executive director, said Fri- day there has been a 20 to 30 per cent decrease in business across the board, some segments of the trucking industry have been hit by as much as an 80 per cent drop. It couldn’t come at a worse time, he said. The industry is experiencing a downturn that some have compared to the 2008 recession, which was catastrophic. “I’ve heard a lot of companies refer to the last couple of years as just as challenging, if not more so, than 2008,” Dolyniuk said. “Now, coming into these uncertain times, it’s somewhat of a perfect storm for our industry.” Companies are struggling to stay in the black and with the current uncertainty of on-again, off- again tariff threats, it’s having a large impact. “It has the potential to become very disruptive,” Dolyniuk said. Eliminating trade barriers between the prov- inces would provide relief, he said. “It would help keep the wheels moving,” he said. “It would remove a lot of red tape and would al- low for a standardized and simplified movement of goods.” In terms of the hospitality sector, Barry Wilfar- ht, president and CEO of the Greater Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce, said there’s been a notice- able decrease in Canadian visitors. “From a community perspective, we’re hopeful our two countries can resolve this tariff situation and get to the table,” Wilfarht said. “Hopefully, this ends sooner rather than later.” The mayor of Fargo, 130 kilometres south of Grand Forks, said he would love to influence Trump’s decision-making. Tim Mahoney said he’s received many emails from Canadians who used to frequent his city, but no longer will. “I’m very upset about it,” Mahoney said. “We very much enjoy our relationship we’ve had in the past and we find Canadians are very respectful and enjoy our community, our businesses, our re- tail space.” Mahoney said he believes Canada does a “very good job” to keep the border safe, and feels the country should be given credit for that. The stated reason for Trump’s tariffs is fentanyl shipments that slip into the U.S. from Canada. “Your neighbour next to you, you want them to do well,” Mahoney said. “You don’t want them to lose their job or their house or something else.” Mahoney doesn’t blame Canadians for staying home: “I believe they should stand up and speak for their rights.” Mahoney said the tariff battle extends to busi- nesses that are important to keep his city running. “Homebuilders here have told me that if the tariffs go into effect, lumber (prices) will jump 40 per cent and that hits my housing industry quite hard,” he said. On Friday, CNH Industrial, a tractor manufac- turer in Fargo, laid off nearly 200 people at its Case New Holland manufacturing plant, citing “current and anticipated” market conditions. At North Dakota Tourism, marketing director Sara Otte Coleman, said they cannot project just how much the political climate will hurt Canadian visitation numbers. In 2024, she said, the number of Canadians who crossed into North Dakota increased by 10 per cent — well behind pre-pandemic numbers. The number of private vehicle crossings were just 78 per cent of what they were in 2019. Data from North Dakota Tourism showed sharp declines in inquiries about tourism beginning in October and a steep drop in visits to the organiza- tion’s website from last August. “We have delayed our paid marketing in Can- ada until we can better understand the sentiment about travelling to North Dakota,” Coleman said in an email Friday. “We value our Canadian visitors. Many have be- come friends as repeat visitors and our commun- ities and businesses hope to see them continue to travel to North Dakota.” scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Manitoba traffic to North Dakota takes hit due to trade war, rising Canadian patriotism JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Simon Resch says his Emerson Duty Free Shop relies on Canadian shoppers, who are now rare. SCOTT BILLECK U.S. liquor to stay in storage at city’s Wow restaurants GABRIELLE PICHÉ ;