A canola grower checks on his storage bins full of last year's crop of canola seed on his farm near Cremona, Alta., on March 22, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Tariffs -- which are levied on goods from other countries -- would raise the cost of doing business and squeeze profits for Canadian producers, said Gervais. They could introduce more volatility into the market and make it harder for companies to make new business plans and investments, he said. Laycraft and Davison said if the tariffs were enacted, producers would start looking to other export markets as they deal with price pressure and restricted access.“But you don’t just replace a huge market like the United States.”
He noted the Canadian dollar has already lost ground against the greenback since Trump’s election, which over time would add inflationary pressure on imports from the U.S. “The new president may think that he's doing right by his citizens,” he added, but “the reality is he's going to affect his businesses as well because of the integration of our two systems.”Trump’s election and his protectionist promises are part of a bigger shift that will influence the Canadian agri-food sector for years to come, said Fraser.