Lethbridge Chamber grits teeth as tariffs take effect

By Lethbridge Herald on March 4, 2025.

CEO Cyndi Crane talks to reporters at the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce offices after tariffs imposed on Canada by the United States took effect Tuesday. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

If there can be any upside to the announcement of U.S. tariffs against Canada, it’s that at least the uncertainty is finally gone.

Now, of course, local businesses must plan what to do about it, said Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce CEO Cyndi Crane. “We know it’s here, so now the action plan is what are we going to do from this moment forward?” asked Crane. 

She shared with media that the US Chamber of Commerce released a statement Tuesday where it recognized the impact the tariffs, imposed Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump, will have on their own economy. 

For example, “a machinery manufacturer in Wyoming says, ‘my company will feel a detrimental impact as a result of these tariffs,’ and out of Kentucky we have ‘new tariffs on Canada and Mexico will put unnecessary pressure on Kentucky businesses and families.’” said Crane.

The statement continues by saying that, as a state that thrives on trade, Kentucky knows firsthand how these policies disrupt supply chains, increase cost and threaten jobs. 

“I think it’s also important to showcase that American businesses are stepping up and saying this is dangerous, just as Canadian businesses are stepping up and saying this is dangerous,” said Crane. 

She added this is not good for anybody in Canada, Unites States or Mexico. 

“It says here (the US chamber of commerce statement) that US total goods traded with Canada were estimated at $762 billion in 2024, while goods traded with Mexico were estimated at $839 billion in 2024.” 

Canada and Mexico are the two largest individual trading partners with the United States, supporting 13 million American jobs. 

Crane added that these tariffs are going to be terrible for jobs in both the U.S. and Canada.

“On the local front, we are hearing from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce business data log that Lethbridge didn’t rank that great,” said Crane. “We do not want to be tenth for most devastated from tariffs in the region.”

She said they are keenly aware this is going to cause some pain, and that was discussed last week in Edmonton while she was there to hear about the provincial budget. 

“There are a lot of things coming out, there will be a release tomorrow. We are reigniting the taskforce that we had set up during Covid, that will be implemented right away. We are trying to work really hard with our Montana partners, as we got concerns but we have action that we can take.” 

Crane said the Chamber already approved a policy on inter-provincial trade. 

“Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce will be presenting that in May at the Alberta Chamber of Commerce AGM and we have people jumping on it to co-sponsor it.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith released a statement Tuesday touching on  the same idea of inter-provincial trade, among other ways to strengthen the local economy. 

“Now is the time for us to unite as a province and a country,” said Smith. “We must do everything in our collective power to immediately tear down provincial trade barriers and fast-track the construction of dozens of resource projects, from pipelines to LNG facilities to critical minerals projects.”

Crane added that some conversations that have been sparked from the imposed tariffs are based on a statement from Trump about Canadians bringing their business to the States instead of operating in Canada. 

“There has been some of those conversations on how do I run my business in Canada when I need some of my product from the U.S.,” said Crane. “Should I open up a second location in the US, across from the border not that far away? So, there are conversations about what is best.”

She said nobody wants to leave Alberta, and it is tough right now, because Alberta is a strong force in Canada, and we need to remain strong while not having stability. Whether the impact will be comparable to that of the Covid-19 pandemic remains to be seen.

“Some people say it’s going to be worse, but it is difficult to say at this point because with COVID everybody was shut down, businesses weren’t allowed to operate at all in some cases, which was devastating. At least right now our restaurants and our day-to-day businesses are open.”

She added that where the impact will be seen is on the shelves. She said people will have to go back to remembering that we may not have as many choices on the shelves for what we need because the cost is going to be too high. 

In at least one way, Canada is in a worse case than during the pandemic, because “Ottawa is closed,” said Crane.

“We need the new Prime Minister to be named, we need more action, we need Ottawa open. Our federal government is closed down right now. They are still working, they are still doing things, but that decision making, that democracy of a nation is not being cohesive right now.” 

She the Lethbridge Chamber is working together with the Alberta Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to do what they can to help businesses navigate the situation. 

“Federally, we have a meeting in Ottawa and there is going to be several of the European chambers of commerce equivalent meeting together as well, because now this has turned into a worldwide issue,” said Crane. 

In her statement, Smith also referred to the need of expanding trade to European countries to help the Canadian economy. 

 “We must strengthen our trade ties throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas for all our energy, agricultural and manufactured products. We also need to drastically increase military spending to ensure we can protect our nation. There is no time to waste on any of these initiatives.”