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.
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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.
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.
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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.”
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.
Here is what Carney turned down, what we wanted. It is what we wanted, it is Canada that made the last minute change.
The United States had offered to reduce its tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, and eliminate a recently imposed tariff on Canadian lumber, before negotiations suddenly collapsed last night, Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, said Saturday.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Greer detailed previously confidential and unreported elements of the U.S. trade offer to Canada, saying those measures would have given Canada the most preferential treatment of any trading partner.
Trade talks between the countries suddenly soured late Friday night, following a week of talks in which negotiators appeared hopeful for an agreement.
Mr. Trump had abruptly threatened Canada with a 50 percent tariff on about $20 billion of its exports in July, in an effort to push the country into making trade concessions and removing certain practices the United States had deemed unfair.
Those tariffs were set to go into effect on the morning of Aug. 19. But on the night before, Mr. Trump delayed the tariffs until Aug. 22, saying that the countries had a deal, “subject to the finalization of documents.”
But over the following days, and particularly late into the night Friday, that consensus crumbled. It fell apart over a series of issues that, individually, may have seemed small but collectively represented a big division over issues of importance to both sides.
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Mr. Greer said that the Trump administration had pledged to eliminate the 10 percent tariff on softwood lumber that Mr. Trump imposed last year using a provision known as Section 232.
The United States had also offered to reduce a 25 percent tariff on cars that Mr. Trump put in place last year. But because Canada qualifies for a further reduction when the cars contain any amount of U.S. content, the automotive tariffs could have gone as low as 7 percent, he said.
The United States also offered to lower tariffs on metals, one of Canada’s most important priorities.
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“The United States was prepared to reduce the tariff on steel from 50 percent to 25 percent for the majority of steel Canada sent to the United States,” Mr. Greer said. Steel would be subject to what is known as a tariff-rate quota system, in which only a certain amount of steel imports would receive that lower tariff.
On aluminum, the United States had offered to reduce its tariffs to 25 percent from 50 percent without such a quota limitation, Mr. Greer said.
For products made with steel and aluminum, like golf clubs and beer cans, the United States offered to cut those tariffs by anywhere from 10 to 25 percentage points, with the lowest tariffs set at 15 percent.
Mr. Greer said that the United States had also offered to suspend the 50 percent tariffs that it brought into effect early Saturday morning on Canadian dairy, wine, hockey sticks and other goods.
“Obviously, we would completely suspend the 50 percent Section 338 tariffs that we were going to apply to 5 percent of Canadian exports,” he said, referring to the tariffs that went into effect Saturday.
The Canadian government did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Mr. Greer’s description of what Canada had left on the table when it suspended talks Friday evening.
In a televised briefing earlier Saturday, Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, slammed the U.S. proposal as a “bad deal.” He added, “we cannot accept what they offered and we will not give what they asked.”
Mr. Carney said that Canada had walked away from negotiations not just because it assessed that what was being offered by the United States negotiating team was insufficient, but also because U.S. officials were asking for concessions that Canada was not prepared to make.
He said Canada had equally agreed to meet many American demands, including pulling all its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum and cars, as well as convince its provinces to restore the sale of U.S. liquor, which most of them have banned.
But, he said, the United States refused to include certain tariff exemptions for heavier trucks. Mr. Carney said the United States also asked for concessions that would affect Canada’s culture and maintenance of protections for the French language and demanded that Canada take out tariffs against non-U.S. trading partners, without offering sufficient benefits for Canada to do so.
Canada had demanded better tariff treatment for pickup and semi trucks in the final stages of the talks, as well as more tariff exceptions for cars made with U.S. and Canadian content, three people familiar with the negotiations said.
“In short, they asked too much and offered too little,” Mr. Carney said about the United States in his Saturday address.
In the interview, Mr. Greer argued with that assessment.
“These are modifications that would continue their best access and improve it,” he said. See less
who cares, i will get my candles from China and my cars and my steel and everything else Chump tarrifs. I don’t need to work cause i got my old age security check now. Ha Ha
Clowny’s in bed with China. All part of the master plan. Better learn the new official language!!
I’ll exist off berries in da bush for 50 years
Boohoohoo woe is me!😭
Canada is a failed experiment. A North American version of the old Holy Roman Empire. A relic of history, that has long outlived any semblance of purpose or use beyond providing a small clique of useless parasites in Ottawa and the oligopolies with unlimited, unchecked power. A cobbled-together dysfunctional empire from the railway age, built out of regions that do not work together at all and with no natural unity.
Boomers need to grow up and join the 21st century. The reality is, we are 100% American in every sense that matters except the legal and the political. Only Quebecois are actually a distinct cultural nation, and they only stay in this failed monarchist confederacy to spitefully squeeze the rest of us dry. So-called “Canada” is obsolete. And perhaps it always was. Alberta 51 now!
There was NO CHOICE here.ALL of Trump’s “deals” have either collapsed or were proven fake…And won’t honour anything on top of that
Perhaps instead of Trump and carney negotiating we should just send some of the Bronfmans directly to Israel to negotiate with Netanyahu.
FOG. The French occupied government failed.
Customers want to support local we do. But if a candle is $30 I’m not buying it. It’s that simple. Tarrif or not some shops need to under the value of their product. Even if it’s affect, customers are too and luxury items like $30 candles are not needed.
Chris
August 24, 2026 at 9:35 am
Canada makes vacuums? Who knew!
Apparently we really suck so why not. If we suck so bad, why so many want to be here?
Canada makes vacuums? Who knew!
It’s too bad that our Liberal Federal government does not provide information on tariffs imposed on Aamerican products. For example, I read an article a day ago that Canada imposes a 245% tariff on American dairy products. Why does our news media
this is where resilience is key. The Americans are about to have an energy crisis. If you know you know.
Neither can many Americans.
Words have definitions everyone. You can’t just be mad at something and call it communism. We have free information and fee will all around us, you can learn what word mean, you can be smarter
Will Mark be releasing documents that reveal what derailed the trade negotiation, or will we have to believe his version of events, like when he expertly negotiated the Gordie Howe Bridge giveaway.
Canada should stop playing around and cut all electric power to the states.
The ‘communist’ comments stink of maga. If they love the orange child fiddler so much, move there.
The bad deal that Canada did went to elect liberals to govern Canada.
I know you couldn’t sign that deal Mark but you still going to keep handing money out all over to 3rd world to places, including the Ukraine, buy submarines, planes LOL.
Talk is cheap plainly as is elbows up. You better cancel all that spending stuff. Rich seniors claw the Canada pension system off them.
You’ve got a real problem buddy. Remember you are mouse in bed with an elephant.
This is akin to 2 cars driving at each other who flinches first?
Canadian companies that can only survive with sales to the US are realizing that counting on Canadians to not vote for klepto-socialism since 2015 was a bad business model.
We stop $100 Million in Booze from the USA, but someone forgot to tell Canadians that now we might lose over $600 Million in Canadian Booze Exported to the USA, DUH, WE LOSE. We are going to have to make a Deal like every other Developed Country has, but this Elbows up stuff has cost the ECONOMY $10’s of Billions in Exports. Mexico is in worse shape being 40% of the Vehicle market and we are Only 11%, but Mexico has been Talking to the USA and are now the Largest Trading Partner and have seen BILLIONS MORE TRADE! Liberals talk replacing the USA with Foreign Trade, we had a $8 Billion Foreign Trade Deficit in the last Month and are close to $100 Billion Total Foreign Trade Deficit, we buy more from all these Foreign Countries than they buy from us. These facts aren’t Secret but the Liberals and Media Hide the Truth, because Canadians especially Liberals are Gullible.
Canadian companies that can only survive with sales to the US are realizing that they had a risky business model.
Its not just the businesses that are going to suffer here! WE CANT AFFORD TO EAT!! If you are wealthy you can maybe ride it out but the people living pay chequered to paycheck are going to now sink even further!! The low income people have no further to fall!
For the smart A who claims Canada isn’t communist.. when your industries require ongoing government subsidy it sure stinks of not being capitalism
Carney said his teams be in intense negotiations for months. This is a provable lie. Yet do we see any real criticism in the press?
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.