With the clock ticking down to Friday’s deadline for Canada and the United States to negotiate a new trade agreement, people who work in Alberta’s construction industry are keeping an anxious eye on the news out of Washington and Ottawa.
If the two countries fail to reach an agreement by the deadline, imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, he has threatened to impose 35 per cent tariffs on all goods imported from Canada not included in the existing Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA).
The president of the Calgary Construction Association, Bill Black, said the uncertainty is already taking a toll.
“It’s games, and it’s playing with people’s livelihoods. It’s playing with business profitability and it’s affecting the availability and affordability of housing, not just in Canada, also in the U.S.,” Black said.
While Black is hopeful the trade dispute will eventually be resolved, he said charging tariffs on products like copper makes no sense.
“Copper is utilized in electrical and a significant amount of building components that are used in the U.S. residentially and commercially,” Black said.
Early Thursday morning, the U.S. president appeared to dampen expectations that negotiators for the two countries would be able to reach a deal by his self-imposed Friday deadline.
Get breaking National news
In a post on social media, Trump said it will be “very hard” to make a deal with Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that Ottawa intends to recognize a Palestinian state.
“I definitely think we’re going to see some tariffs,” Black said. “I can’t see how, frankly, his ego would let him not retain some.”
While Black said Canadian companies are looking to source more construction materials within Canada, making them less dependent on U.S. suppliers, there are some materials that are only available from the U.S.
“The difference between some owners and others is some are asking contractors to carry all the risk in their bid, and so that means you’re probably going to get some significant contingency,” Black said. “Other owners are saying, give me your best price now and tell me the items that we need to worry about.”
“At the end of the day,” Black said, “if there is additional cost, it is going to result in being passed on (to customers).”
The most recent data from the United States Census Bureau shows that, purely on goods traded, the U.S. had a trade deficit with Canada of US$61.98 billion in 2024. The year before, it was $63.6 billion.
In a separate post on Thursday morning, following a conversation he had with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump said he is giving that country an additional 90 days to negotiate an agreement before imposing a threatened 30 per cent tariff on goods from Mexico that aren’t included in CUSMA.
Comments