Canadian businesses are bracing for more uncertainty as a new round of U.S. tariffs take effect following the collapse of trade talks between Canada and the United States.
President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Canadian goods came into force Saturday after negotiators failed to reach an agreement before the deadline.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada was “walking away from a bad deal,” and vowed to respond with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
For businesses caught in the middle of the trade war, attention is now turning to what the new tariffs will mean for costs, sales, jobs and what support will be available to help them weather the impact.
For Ela Onisto, who owns Wick’ed Fragrance House in Innisfill, Ont., the pressure is already being felt.
Onisto makes and sells small-batch natural candles, fragrances and decor. She tries to keep her supply chain as Canadian as possible, but says she is already paying more for some supplies while customers are spending less.
“It’s difficult because you need to determine where you’re going to add the cost… you don’t want to scare the customer; so as a small business owner, your margins go down,” Onisto said.
Sourcing ingredients in Canada doesn’t completely shield her business from the trade dispute, as some of her Canadian suppliers rely on the U.S. market.
“It’s a domino effect,” she said.
Get breaking National news
Candles are among the Canadian products facing new 50 per cent tariffs.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says forty per cent of small exporters sell products included on the tariff list, and one-third of those businesses expect their sales to fall by 50 per cent or more.
Matthew Holmes, executive vice president and chief of public policy with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said businesses have already spent months dealing with unpredictable U.S. trade policy.
“In 2025, there were over 52 different changes to the American tariff and tax code. That’s more than one a week,” Holmes told Global News.
Holmes said that uncertainty has caused some businesses to freeze major investment decisions, delay hiring or hold off on launching new products.
While a “no deal” scenario was not what anyone wanted, Holmes said governments are responding appropriately by preparing support for affected businesses and workers.
“They are treating this like a crisis, and that is the appropriate response right now.”
- Conservatives urge feds to release details of U.S. deal Canada walked away from
- 150th anniversary of Treaty 6 to be commemorated
- Canadian premiers appear to back Carney’s decision to abandon ‘bad deal’ with United States
- U.S.-Canada trade talks have collapsed. Carney says these 3 issues torpedoed them
For Geoff Stewart, founder and president of Alberta-based Rig Hand Craft Distillery, uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs has already changed how he does business.
Stewart said concerns over tariffs caused the company to close a packaging facility in Texas, which cost it contracts in that state, as well as in Arizona and Alaska.
Rig Hand has since turned more of its attention to the Canadian market and other countries, recently making its first shipments to Japan.
But Stewart says moving away from the U.S. is not an easy solution for Canadian distilleries that rely heavily on exports. His business also sources some materials from the United States, leaving it exposed to the effects of retaliatory tariffs.
However, Stewart says the bigger problem is not knowing what comes next.
“The idea that there’s no tariffs today, and then in three days there are tariffs, and then seven days later, it might come off, then four days later it might come back. We can’t run our businesses with that amount of uncertainty there,” Stewart said. “And so we just need to know what the path forward is.”
Ottawa has promised additional measures to support businesses and workers affected by the trade war, with Carney saying more details will be announced in the coming days.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has backed the federal government’s decision to walk away from the proposed deal, saying it would have been bad for Ontario’s auto, steel and manufacturing sectors.
Other premiers have also rallied behind Carney’s decision while calling for supports for industries and workers expected to feel the impact of the tariffs.
For small businesses like Onisto’s, the focus is on getting through the uncertainty, and appealing to Canadian consumers to continue to shop local.
“Support the small guys… we really depend on customers to support us,” she said.
Trump showed it
Communism – an economic system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.
Capitalism – an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of goods.
Because people here seem to be confused Canada is in no way communist
Carney doesn’t give AF about the health of Canadian small businesses
August 23, 2026 at 4:01pm
“I live off fraudulent welfare checks, so I spend all my time sitting at home mashing sweaty cheeto sludge all over my phone screen as I tell total strangers online that they don’t have real jobs.”
It’s all part of the agenda. Force it’s people into submission then move in and “we are here for you”. Throw you a crumb here and there, then bam you are forever in their debt. You will own nothing and like it.
Some MF really said that focusing on real people and not businesses so large they’ll probably be just fine is “missing the mark”.
Another MF really said that Canada is communist and the answer to the tantrums of the inflated walking rust-lidded skeleton to sign up to join it.
Or at least their coding said it, who knows how many of these echoheads are bone and how many are metal these days.
25 billion of Canadian tax payers money to support businesses, big and small, instead of hammering out a deal. That money will be gone and the businesses will eventually fail anyways without a deal in place.
Canadian businesses have had 18 months to see tRump renege on deals he signed, flip flop daily on tariffs, exhibit increasingly erratic behaviour, and see elected officials from both parties wring their hands while doing nothing. Why even consider doing any business with the US? If a known and convicted conman walked into your candle store or craft distillery wanting to be your partner would you do business with them? There’s a big, friendly and more trustworthy world of trading partners out there. We need to think outside the (American) box and move on and forward.
Canada should take the money from the export tariffs and give it directly to the companies impacted by tRumpy’s tariffs and the resulting loss of business.
Now is the time to figure it out…find your opportunities and diversify your markets.
We’re dealing with multi billion dollars economy and this journalist is focusing on a small home made candles business. Missing the mark Booja!
there are only tariffs because Canadian communist government decided to do that for YOU. there is no uncertainty..the only certainty is Canada is a communist gulag and businesses should move abroad or to the USA. the claim of instability is fake..communism is a Predictable disaster and Mr. Carnage can be counted on to produce disaster. that’s certainty!
Europe is still reeling from the loss of Russian energy and raw goods. They won’t be stepping away from the US anytime soon, definitely not before Trump’s term ends. We need to look forward to who will be leading the US after Trump, and in the meantime all we can do is damage control. We are on our own otherwise.
CANADA’S STANCE IS A CASE THE WORLD CAN LEARN FROM AND FOLLOW
________________
The whole world can learn a great deal from the stance that Canada made in its action in refusing unfair trade.
Canada 🇨🇦 has made a clear, precise, and a sharp statement in taking this position in the trade talks with USA.
We trade in goods and services but our sovereignty and fair economic practices are non negotiable. We trade with partners who talk reason and not greed.
Our prime minister Mark Carney did not walk out. He moved on. Canada stands united in support for this stance.
CANADA’S STANCE IS A CASE THE WORLD CAN LEARN FROM AND FOLLOW
________________
The whole world can learn a great deal from the stance that Canada made in its action in refusing unfair trade.
Canada 🇨🇦 has made a clear, precise, and a sharp statement in taking this position in the trade talks with USA.
We trade in goods and services but our sovereignty and fair economic practices are non negotiable. We trade with partners who talk reason and not greed.
Our prime minister Mark Carney did not walk out. He moved on. Canada stands united in support for this stance.
Candle makers and basket weavers are all we do in Canada. Stop whining. Sell to someone else. Or get a job. This isn’t the Oprah Winfrey show. Diversify. Or work for CBC. Either way, stop your whining.