As U.S. tariffs are raising fears that Canadian manufacturers are being lured south of the border, some of their American counterparts are moving in the opposite direction.
Canada has surprisingly become a more attractive place to do business than the U.S. for some companies that sell globally, with tariff-free access to major overseas markets and lower operating costs.
Among those looking north is Wildlife Acoustics, a Massachusetts-based company which was honoured with the President’s “E” Award for Exports from the Biden administration in 2024.
For nearly two decades, founder and CEO Ian Agranat has taken pride in the fact that the company’s monitoring equipment — which captures the sounds of birds, insects and amphibians, as well as bat calls — was made entirely in New England and sold in 200 countries.
Little did he foresee that Donald Trump’s tariffs would force the company to begin shifting production to Canada in 2026, with plans to move most of it north of the border next year.
“It’s a sad choice, right? We sometimes do things because we have to,” Agranat said. “From a business point of view, it’s the right thing to do under the circumstances. It’s what’s best for our customers, employees and our business.”
Since Trump unleashed a new round of tariffs on many U.S. trading partners last January, the costs of imported materials used to make Wildlife Acoustics’ products — from electronic components and aluminum to plastics — have risen across the board.
Those tariffs are eroding the company’s competitive edge, as Wildlife Acoustics’ foreign competitors face no such pressure on their supply chains.
The U.S. represents only about one-third of Wildlife Acoustics’ market, with the company selling its products across Europe, the U.K., South Africa, Australia, Asia and South America.
In March 2025, Ontario Premier Doug Ford barred U.S. companies from bidding on provincial contracts in retaliation for U.S. tariffs, threatening to put one of Wildlife Acoustics’ major customers — the Ontario government — out of reach.
Soon after, Agranat began looking north for Canadian manufacturers.
“With all of those factors, by building product in Canada … we can build products for almost 30 per cent less than it costs to build them domestically here in the U.S.,” he said.
Canada’s free-trade deals with Europe, Australia and other key markets make it cheaper and more competitive to manufacture in Canada and export around the world, he added.
Wildlife Acoustics tested the waters this year by having its Song Meter Micro 2, an acoustic recorder capable of capturing up to 280 hours of wildlife sounds, manufactured in Markham, Ont.
The trial went well. Now, Agranat plans to go much further.
His company will shift the manufacturing of its four “bread-and-butter” products to Markham in 2027 while keeping only a small share of production in the U.S. to serve domestic customers.
“If most of our business is outside of the U.S. and it’s more expensive because of the self-inflicted tariffs to build things in the U.S., that does not encourage us to build more things in the U.S,” Agranat said. “That’s counter to that.”
Undoubtedly, Wildlife Acoustics is moving against the prevailing current.
According to a July 2026 KPMG survey of 275 Canadian manufacturers, 29 per cent had already moved some or all of their production to the U.S., while another 13 per cent planned to do so.
But Agranat said he believes other American companies could be weighing similar steps — moving or duplicating production abroad to mitigate risks.
“Any business that’s selling (to customers) outside the United States is going to be disadvantaged by tariffs,” he said, arguing that Trump’s premise that tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the U.S. is a “lie.”
“I’m very glad right now with the latest little tariff war that was launched that Carney is standing up to Trump,” he said. “Even if that’s bad for us, more people need to say ‘No, enough’ because if you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile.”
For Howell Ski Bindings, a Vermont-based company developing ski bindings designed to reduce ACL injuries, the pull north is also taking hold.
Rick Howell, the company’s president, is looking to manufacture its products, slated for release in 2029, in Quebec.
“I feel strongly that my company will be better off in Quebec than it is in the USA,” said Howell. “And I’m a proud U.S. citizen.”
Howell said Canada appeals to him for two reasons: its duty-free trade agreements with European countries and Japan, which account for the majority of global ski binding sales, and the quality of the Quebec subcontractors he has worked with.
The growing boycott of American products in countries such as Switzerland is another concern. Howell believes manufacturing in Quebec could make it easier for his company to earn customers’ trust.
“I think a lot of people might be holding out too much hope right now in the midterms,” he said. “I can’t bet my business on that.”
“I want to be with Carney, and I want to be where there’s a stable economy that I can rely on,” Howell said.
Daniel Tisch, the president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, said he is not surprised to see American businesses “vote with their feet.”
It is only logical for businesses to reorganize their operations in more stable and predictable markets, he added, and Ontario has proved an attractive destination.
A 2026 Ontario Chamber of Commerce survey found that more companies headquartered outside the province were considering expanding in Ontario than in the U.S. or elsewhere internationally.
Access to global markets, a skilled workforce and Ontario’s investment in advanced industries are helping draw businesses to the province, he said.
“When you look backwards, the U.S. story is one of opportunity. When you look forward, the U.S. story is one of risk,” said Tisch.
