Canadian and Design and Construction Report staff writer
Canadian steel workers are calling on the federal government to strengthen protections for workers and domestic production as new retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods take effect.
USW National Director Marty Warren met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and federal ministers last week, alongside other labour representatives to discuss the impact of Canada-U.S. trade tensions on workers, industries and communities.
Warren said workers in tariff-affected industries need immediate support, while the federal government develops a longer-term strategy to strengthen Canada’s industrial capacity and reduce its reliance on the U.S. market.
“Canada was right to hold the line rather than accept a bad deal and right to respond to these unjustified tariffs with counter-tariffs,” Warren said. “But workers did not start this trade war and should not pay the price.
“With new counter-tariffs taking effect, keeping workers working and ensuring those affected have the supports they need must be the priority.”
Canada’s latest counter-tariffs took effect today, adding pressure to industries already dealing with uncertainty over cross-border trade.
For the construction sector, the USW’s calls for greater domestic production and enhanced Buy Canadian requirements could have implications for the sourcing of steel, manufactured products and other materials used in major infrastructure and building projects.
Warren called for permanent improvements to Employment Insurance and an emergency program to help keep workers connected to their jobs during periods of economic disruption.
He also said federal support for industries affected by tariffs should be tied to protecting Canadian jobs and production, rather than providing financial assistance to companies that subsequently cut jobs or move work outside the country.
“Based on what we were hearing, the deal on the table could have left Canadian workers and key industries worse off. No deal is better than a bad deal,” Warren said. “Whatever happens at the negotiating table, Canada cannot go back to business as usual.
“We need to make more things here, use Canadian materials in Canadian projects and ensure public dollars support Canadian jobs and communities. That means strengthening our industrial capacity, diversifying our trade relationships and making Canada more economically resilient.”
The union is also calling for tougher enforcement against unfairly traded and dumped goods, an expanded Buy Canadian approach, a comprehensive industrial strategy and greater diversification of Canada’s international trade relationships.
Warren said Canada should use the current trade dispute as an opportunity to strengthen domestic supply chains and manufacturing capacity.
“Whatever happens at the negotiating table, Canada cannot go back to business as usual,” he said. “We need to make more things here, use Canadian materials in Canadian projects and ensure public dollars support Canadian jobs and communities.”
He said increasing domestic production, diversifying trade and strengthening industrial capacity will be necessary to make Canada’s economy more resilient.
The USW represents about 225,000 members across Canada in nearly every economic sector. The union has about 850,000 members across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
