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Canada is putting on a brave face but it's not looking good for them.
Employers begin layoffs as Canada-U.S. trade war intensifies
Multiple employers are laying off workers as the impact of the U.S.-Canada trade war seeps into the labour force, while other companies are scaling back their hiring plans because of the upheaval.
Over the past three weeks, numerous businesses from furniture manufacturers to steel producers have announced layoffs to cope with the uncertainties brought about by U.S. tariffs on Canadian exports, and subsequently, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on some American imports.
Algoma Steel Group Inc. ASTL-T +4.44%increase
, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., said last Friday that it had laid off 20 employees because of the trade war. United Steelworkers Canada, the union representing Algoma employees, warned that more job cuts could be coming to the steel production plant, which employs approximately 2,500 people.
Another steel manufacturer in eastern Ontario – the Canada Metal Processing Group – said on Feb. 24 that it was cutting 140 employees because of the “actions by the United States” that will result in cancellations or delayed orders.
The Canadian unemployment rate held steady at 6.6 per cent in February, but economists are cautioning that the unpredictability of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff actions could force businesses to cut costs. A recent report from TD Bank economists warned that a flare-up in “tit-for-tat” tariffs between the U.S. and Canada could push the Canadian economy into recession and cause the unemployment rate to spike by 2 per cent.
“We have definitely started seeing manufacturing job postings starting to slip,” said Brendon Bernard, senior economist at the job search company Indeed.com. ”It is still very early days, but the knock-on effects of slipping demand will mean companies may hire a little less or hold off on putting up new positions," he added.
On Wednesday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said that many businesses have scaled back hiring and investment plans as they price in a dimmer sales outlook as a result of the trade tensions.
The consequences are acute for townships where many local jobs are linked to the U.S. Stéphanie Lacoste, the mayor of Drummondville, Que., issued a statement on Thursday saying that 3,000 jobs in her town are at risk because of the trade war. Manufacturing accounts for a third of Drummondville’s economic output and it is home to three medium-sized metals manufacturing companies.
In Delta, B.C., furniture company Prepac Manufacturing Ltd. abruptly announced plans last month to shut down one of its factories and terminate 170 employees.Adversity temporarily visits a strong man but stays with the weak for a lifetime.Comment
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Crash: ‘Trump slump’ wipes out billions, bankers revolt as 47’s team says recession ‘worth it’?!
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Portugal says ‘no’ to F-35 jets due to U.S. unpredictability By Alexey Lenkov on March 14, 2025
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Portugal has slammed the lid on any flicker of hope that it might one day strap into Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II, a move that doesn’t so much cancel a deal as it torches a notion that’s been smoldering for years.
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BREAKING: J.P. Morgan’s chief economist warns that there is now a staggering 40% chance of a full-blown recession thanks to Donald Trump — as well as a profound risk to the country’s status as an investment destination.
This is a five-alarm fire for the economy…
"Where we stand now is with a heightened concern about the U.S. economy," said Bruce Kasman, the bank's top global economist.
He had previously pegged the recession odds at 30% at the start of the year, but Trump’s disastrous tariffs and unpredictable behavior have thrown the markets into chaos.
Kasman warned that the recession risk could hit 50% or higher if Trump implements the reciprocal tariffs that he’s floated.
"If we would continue down this road of what would be more disruptive, business-unfriendly policies, I think the risks on that recession front would go up," Kasman said.
He predicted that investors could lose faith in U.S. assets due to Trump’s unpredictable — and at times utterly inscrutable — governance style. Such trust takes decades to build and might never return if lost.
"The U.S. seems to have established itself as a place where people can be comfortable about rule of law ... comfortable about the integrity of information flow, and they can be comfortable that the government isn't going to be, in unexpected ways, getting involved in the rules of the game," said Kasman.
"The term which has been in place for a very long time is that we have 'exorbitant privilege'. That we end up paying a much lower cost for financing our deficits and debt, we have much greater capital flows and attractiveness of the dollar and assets, because of these things," he added.
"The risk that that stuff starts to come under pressure and becomes a structural issue in the markets is not something I would, by any means, underplay,” said Kasman.
Economists at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have downgraded their forecasts for U.S. GDP growth to 1.7% and 1.5% respectfully.
On top of that, 95% of economists polled by Reuterslast in Canada, Mexico, and the United States said that recession risks in their domestic economies have spiked due to Trump’s tariffs.
Trump supporters thought that they were voting for a new “Golden Age.” Instead, they might end up with one of the worst economic collapses in American history.
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KillerStartups U.S. stock market suffers $5 trillion loss
1 day ago
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Trump’s 25% tariff hands the car industry keys to China
If we lose the next 4 years China will win the EV car raceComment
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For Chinese auto part suppliers, Americans are picking up the tab for Trump's tariffs
One manufacturer told NBC News that she had managed to push the existing 45% duty on her products onto American customers.
Great everything will cost moreComment
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From the time he got out of the army at the end of WWII until the day he retired my grandfather worked as a machinist on the floor of a manufacturing plant for a company called RCA. They were a pioneer in radio technology, stereos, televisions, and computer equipment. They employed tens of thousands of people in the NorthEast at a variety of facilities. The company was killed by competition from Asia as companies like Sony, Sanyo and Toshiba filled the space. By the late 80s that company and all those jobs were gone. Those were good jobs. Jobs with benefits and pensions that gave my grandfather.....a guy who didn't finish high school.....a pension and a better standard of living than most recent college grads today will ever have. Let that sink in.
Think of all the presidents who sold us out and sent those jobs overseas after we were for the most part the country who innovated those technologies. That didn't have to happen. Trump is the first president in any of our lifetimes to try to do something meaningful to correct the mistakes of his predecessors on trade.Comment
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Why is it that liberals understand that a tariff spikes prices but fail to understand that taxes on the rich, regulation and energy prices does the same?Adversity temporarily visits a strong man but stays with the weak for a lifetime.Comment
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See it: See the moment Trump’s economy went up in flames: Melber breaks down the lost ‘trade war’
The stock market had its worst day since the COVID-19 pandemic as President Trump’s tariffs shock global trade.Comment
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