buy ottawa: how the tariff war is hitting local small businesses
"it's important that we're all pulling together in the same direction."
5 minute read
kevin stewart, owner of ottawa valley grain products, says business has been booming since the threat of tariffs was first mentioned, but there's much uncertainty about the future if those tariffs are actually imposed.
ashley fraser
/
postmedia
for local small businesses and the ongoing trade threats from u.s. president donald trump, it’s a good news bad news tale of two tariffs.
ottawa valley grain products owner kevin stewart, whose flour business is booming, says it feels like he’s part of something larger.
“i’m all for, ‘go canada go,'” said stewart, who has seen retail sales double at his family owned outfit in the past three weeks as many customers have chosen to boycott u.s.-brand products.
“it feels like we’re all on the same team and working together. we work with farmers in the ottawa valley. it’s important that we’re all pulling together in the same direction.”
stewart says people are thinking twice before going shopping, seeking out locally sourced products wherever they can.
“it’s been going on since around jan. 22, when there was the first word of the tariffs,” he said.
“people are saying they wanted to do something about trump. they’re finding us on google. we’re getting a lot of online sales. we had some people come in and ask how long we have been here. i said, ’96 years.'”
typically, ottawa valley grain ships in large quantities, including 1,000-kilogram bags that must be moved by forklifts. additional demand has led to some adjustment in packaging to smaller quantities and, if that keeps up, additional staff may need to be hired.
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there has also been an added bonus to the business coming from south of the border. after trump announced his plans to slap a 25 per cent import duty on most canadian goods — he has since hit the pause button for a month — stewart’s u.s. customers were trying to get ahead of the curve of additional costs.
“we have some u.s.-based customers, and they were scrambling to get their orders in before the tariffs, on jan. 30 and jan. 31, and we were shipping to those customers at the last minute. of course, now there’s a reprieve,” stewart said.
all that, however, could turn in the other direction if and when trump does follow through.
kevin stewart, owner of ottawa valley grains products, says his flour business is booming.
ashley fraser
/
postmedia
“a 25 per cent increase on any product is hard to absorb,” stewart said. “we’re doing our best to get our prices as low as possible and we’ll try to meet our customers halfway, but, unfortunately, we’ll probably lose some of those (if tariffs are imposed).”
indeed, in some cases tariffs and the looming threat of counter-tariffs from canada have created headaches for other local small businesses.
take, for example, the village quire, a specialty gift card and stationery shop in westboro. it caters to customers seeking a range of choices not available at larger box stores that carry a little bit of everything.
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the store’s products come from around the world: canada, europe and, yes, the united states.
when prime minister justin trudeau threatened to retaliate with $155 billion in taxes on incoming u.s. products, the village quire owner molly van der schee tried to get ahead of the trade game.
“i buy from canadian distributors that pull in from the u.s., and, if they’re saying there will be (counter-tariffs), that extra tax will be distributed to the businesses that they sell to,” she said.
“so i bought up extra stock of american stuff. i also have british-made cards and canadian cards. but, if the taxes go up on the american stuff, maybe we drop that line and we would have to fill that hole with something else. it’s problematic because the u.s. offers some things you can’t get in canada.”
molly van der schee of the village quire says visitors are increasingly checking product labels to see where items in her store have been produced.
tony caldwell
/
postmedia
would customers be willing to pay $15 for a hard-to-find wrapping paper or ribbon product from the u.s. that was previously $12?
“i have a lot of loyal customers who like the selection, but do people turn to the dollar store or chapters or costco? would people decide to buy wrapping paper when they go in to buy their (costco) chicken?” van der schee said. “i want people to know that i work hard to provide choice where they can find different things, like a lot of shops in westboro. when you go to the bigger stores or malls, it’s one-stop shopping.”
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as the “buy canadian” movement has gained momentum in recent weeks, van der schee says visitors to the store are increasingly checking product labels.
“they say, ‘it’s from the u.s.,'” she said. “but i tell them, ‘i own it. i bought it before the tariffs. i’ve got to sell it.’ i’ve had the same conversations 100 times. it’s exhausting. some people are buying stuff that’s from china, but not the u.s.”
it’s yet another twist in how small businesses have had to roll with the punches for several years, including dealing with covid-19-related closures in 2020. the village quire was closed for eight months during the pandemic.
paul meek, owner of bells corners-based kichesippi beer company, knows exactly where van der schee is coming from.
the ingredients in his beer, including hops, malt and yeast, are almost exclusively canadian. cans, however, are another story: two massive u.s. suppliers service most of the beer industry.
paul meek, owner of kichesippi beer company, says the ingredients in the company’s product are almost exclusively sourced in canada, but the can industry is dominated by two major u.s. suppliers.
ashley fraser
/
postmedia
should additional taxes come, kichesippi must pay the price and, eventually, pass on those costs.
“it’s hard to quantify, but it creates a lot of uncertainty,” meek said. “we know the prices are going to go up at some point. we just don’t know when. there are more questions than answers.”
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buying up a huge quantity of cans before a potential tariff increase isn’t a logistical possibility, given the limited warehouse space of the small, regionally-based microbrewery.
perhaps, he says, the answer lies in looking to the far east to see if cans are cheaper.
beer drinkers who enjoy supporting a homegrown product might be willing to spend a few more cents per can, but how much of a price increase would be too much?
meek recognizes that his product isn’t a necessity like clothes or food, but he appreciates “buy canadian” increased impact.
“that’s the unfortunate thing, that it had to come to this for people to think that way, to support local businesses,” he said.
the unknown proved to be too much for the conspiracy brewing co., also based in bells corners.
“due to economic uncertainty and the future, we have to close our doors effective today,” the company posted on facebook. “we have tried to pursue every option available to us and the risk is too high for ourselves and to our suppliers.”
stewart, of ottawa valley grain, says he’s in some ways reliving the experience of how people shopped during covid-19.
“we had record sales during covid,” he said. “we had more people baking, more local bakeries (coming to us), and then it tapered off. now we have another wave of buying local.”
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he says it’s intriguing that the trade war talk has helped people become more aware of the world around them.
“everyone’s looking into geopolitics and how world economies work,” stewart said. “sometimes, it’s almost unbelievable that you can find something for a cheaper price that’s five times further away. how is that possible?”
ultimately, meek says, the u.s. president holds the trump card.
“we’re all trying to figure out what he’s thinking,” he said. “it’s a winning lottery ticket if you can figure that one out.”
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