The head of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business started Tuesday with an upsetting email from one of his 103,000 members.
The writer was a Canadian manufacturer who does so much of his business south of the border that he can’t see a way forward if the U.S. starts imposing 50 per cent tariffs on some Canadian exports Wednesday.
“He expects that if this goes ahead, the business is done,” CFIB president Dan Kelly said of the impending charges on a wide array of goods including booze, cement, honey and hockey sticks.
“Those are heartbreaking stories to hear from small business owners, many of whom have really worked hard to stay in Canada and build a strong trade in the United States. It’s a real shame that they’re feeling this degree of stress”
Kelly’s recounting offers a window into how businesses were faring as the midnight deadline to head off charges grew nearer.
Many were on tenterhooks, hoping negotiators and politicians on both sides of the border could broker a Hail Mary before the charges start being applied.
CFIB members were split into two camps, Kelly said.
The first figured it would be indirectly affected by tariffs because the items facing duties were necessary for only a portion of their products.
Those businesses said they would “grit my teeth and bear it until this ugly chapter is over,” Kelly said.
The other group doesn’t have that luxury. Whether or not U.S. President Donald Trump balks at applying tariffs, as he has several times this year, they have to be prepared because their business relies so heavily on the U.S.
“If your product is on the list of the new tariffs, you’re not consoled by the fact that many of the tariff threats don’t materialize,” Kelly said.
“You’re in full panic mode because tonight your product may be subject to 50 per cent and you just can’t afford to be cavalier about that, even if there is a prospect that this crisis gets averted.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.
