Canada's business leaders and political opposition are pressing Ottawa for transparency and meaningful relief for affected firms
Less than a week ago, Canada’s prime minster was sounding optimistic of a new trade agreement with the United States.
But with negotiations now suspended, US 50% tariffs already in effect on Canadian goods, and Canada's own retaliatory measures set to follow on September 8, the political and business backlash against Ottawa's handling of the file is intensifying.
And for small businesses, the impact is set to be swift and painful, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) which represents hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises across the country.
CFIB president Dan Kelly, called the situation "deeply troubling for thousands of small Canadian exporters," warning that "many CFIB members have said this will end their US sales and some have reported this will kill their businesses."
More than 100,000 Canadian jobs could be at risk from the failure of talks, according to a recent analysis from Oxford Economics.
Canadians deserve details
Prime Minister Mark Carney framed the breakdown in negotiations as a structural turning point, stating that "America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship."
Ottawa is pointing to $500 billion in domestic infrastructure investment and a push to diversify trade toward markets representing 1.5 billion consumers as its long-term response.
Meanwhile in a formal letter published over the weekend, Shuvaloy Majumdar, shadow minister for Canada-United States Relations, wrote to trade minister Dominic LeBlanc demanding the government release the full details of the deal from which it walked away on the Friday evening.
"The US administration has seen it. Your government has seen it. Canadians deserve to see it," Majumdar wrote, arguing that the standard justification for secrecy (i.e. protecting Canada's negotiating position) no longer holds now that talks have collapsed entirely.
Majumdar stopped short of criticising the decision to walk away, acknowledging that "Canada cannot accept a bad deal or one-sided tariffs that would cause permanent harm to our industries and deindustrialize our country."
Body blow for business
According to CP24, Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO Candace Laing called the breakdown "a body blow to North American competitiveness in this self-defeating trade saga," adding that "a whopping, non-absorbable tariff is not sustainable or viable for business."
The CFIB’s Kelly noted that 40% of small Canadian exporters are directly in the line of fire from the new US tariffs, which cover 18 pages of products including machinery and equipment, wood and building products, plastic and packaging, food and beverages, and arts and creative products.
Critically, Kelly pointed out that the pain runs in both directions: more than 50% of small businesses import from the United States, meaning Canada's retaliatory tariffs targeting dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics from September 8, compound rather than cushion the damage for many firms.
He criticised prior federal relief efforts, stating that "the $25 billion of earlier supports failed to deliver any meaningful relief" and that Regional Development Agency loan programmes "specifically excluded small firms from even applying."
CFIB is calling on the government to resume negotiations as quickly as possible and to introduce targeted tax relief as part of any new support package.
Labour groups have offered more measured support for Ottawa's position. Unifor president Lana Payne said the government made "the right decision by walking away," stating that "we can't trade good jobs for a bad deal." Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske echoed that view: "Walking away from a bad deal is the right choice for Canada. The road ahead will be tough. But we're all in this together."
