Steel and auto industries in Michigan and Canada may suffer after the two countries couldn’t reach a trade agreement late last week.
That led to a threated 50% tariff on Canadian steel, auto parts and cars. Republican President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social saying those tariffs would start in on January 1, 2027.
"Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years," Trump wrote. "Not sustainable, and NOT ANYMORE!"
After Canada walked away from the negotiating table, NPR reported that Canada’s prime minister said he would match Trumps tariff’s “dollar-for-dollar.”
“Canadian exports to United States lower costs for American families,” Carney said. “In contrast, tariffs are taxes, taxes which are ultimately paid by U.S. consumers.”
During a press conference Monday afternoon, Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, said he fully supported the prime minister’s choice to fight back on Trump’s economic policies.
“But let's be clear, this will not be easy,” Ford said. “To stand up for Canada, to stand up against President Trump, we have to withstand the economic pain that will come with this fight.”
Canada has already been feeling some of that economic strain since Trump took office again in 2025.
Traffic across the Sault Ste. Marie International bridge was down more than 23% in 2025 compared to 2024. Those numbers keep going down.
Just over 5,300 commercial vehicles crossed the bridge in July 2025 alone. According to the latest data from the bridge authority, commercial traffic for July 2026 hit 4,458, a nearly 16% decline when comparing the two months a year a part.
Matthew Shoemaker, mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, told WCMU the proposed tariffs could have major consequences for one the city’s largest employers, Algoma Steel.
“There's not many degrees of separation between anybody in Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma Steel,” Shoemaker said. “And so when it thrives, the city thrives and when it struggles, the city struggles.”
The city and local steel industry has been at the whims of Trump’s tariff regime, according to Shoemaker. Even if Trump’s proposed 50% tariff went down to 25%, Shoemaker said it’s not sustainable for the steel plant.
“It's better in my view to seek out other markets,” Shoemaker said. “Seek out ways to diversify our local economy and try and avoid the permanence of a deal with the U.S. at an unstable tariff rate.”
Seeking alternate trade partners and buying products made in Canada is one way the country is trying to push back against the Trump administration, according to Shoemaker, who said local businesses in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario have been pushing people to buy local since the start of the second Trump administration.
Ford also announced that the province will expand the protect Ontario finance program that helps local businesses stay afloat during trade uncertainty.
“I promise you our government will be there doing whatever we can to keep costs down, cut taxes, support workers and families and protect Ontario jobs,” Ford said.
“But we need all levels of government working with us to lower cost and get through this fight.”
WCMU's Rick Brewer contributed reporting to this story.
WCMU's Rural Life and Agriculture reporting is made possible through the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
