Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeNewsEconomyB.C. businesses brace for damage on both fronts of Canada-U.S. trade warCanada unveiled $28 billion in counter tariffs aimed at protecting Canadian industries hit by U.S. levies, but some are likely to cause collateral damageLast updated 12 hours ago Brandon Fry (director of engineering) and Darcy Lane (director of sales) at Revival Stillworks, a small engineering and fabricating firm in Sidney on Vancouver Island that makes distillery equipment for craft distillers. They are bracing for tariff impacts in Canada's escalating trade war with the U.S.Specialty manufacturer Revival Stillworks on Vancouver Island is bracing for potential hits on both fronts of Canada’s escalating trade war with the U.S.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThey know U.S. sales of the bespoke distillery equipment they fabricate at a facility in Sidney will be subject to President Donald Trump’s Section 338 tariffs that came into effect Saturday. The U.S. is about half of the company’s market.Company executive Darcy Lane is working to confirm that some of the equipment they buy from south of the border will be hit by Canadian counter tariffs announced Tuesday.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“I’m sure it will be, because I saw there’s electronics that are included,” said Lane, who is director of sales and business development at Revival.Federal Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the schedule of counter tariffs in Ottawa on Tuesday, 15 to 50 per cent levies on roughly $28 billion in U.S. imports, corresponding with the $28 billion hit to Canadian exports.Canada’s counter tariffs were crafted to hit U.S. products where local consumers have alternatives. The goal is to level the playing field for Canadian industries and businesses subject to U.S. tariffs.But Revival took a blow to its U.S. sales in the first round of tariffs launched by Trump in 2025 when American customers cancelled orders, Canadian customers held off on purchases due to the uncertainty, and the company had to lay off some staff.Lane said Revival had almost built back its sales pipeline, and it has millions of dollars worth of projects in the works.“To our U.S. customers, there’s not much we can do (except) say, ‘Hey, look guys, you know we would love to work with you. We’re pretty optimistic that our governments are going to work this out,'” Lane added.And if they are thinking of cancelling purchases, “just buy us a bit more time, and we’re hoping our governments can work it out. ”At home, Lane said Revival will be looking for more straightforward financial assistance than the package extended to businesses in 2025 that the company didn’t qualify for.Ottawa, on Tuesday, unveiled $7.5 billion in spending on support programs to help businesses and workers weather tariff impacts. It includes $1.5 billion to shore up its regional tariff response initiative for small and medium businesses administered under a strategic response fund.The problem with that support program when it was first introduced is that it came with thresholds of minimum revenue of $2 million or having at least 10 employees to qualify, according to Ryan Mitton, B.C. director of legislative affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.“That has shut out a good portion of small businesses” in B.C., Mitton added. He said that CFIB would prefer to see a simpler, more streamlined program in which businesses just have to prove they are “a real Canadian business” to qualify.That is important, Mitton said, because two in five of its exporting members will be hit by U.S. import tariffs, with one in 20 expecting to see their revenue wiped out by the levies.To make matters worse, a significant portion of CFIB’s members will have to absorb the cost of U.S. imports in their supply chains, Mitton added.“No one really wins in a trade war if you’re a small business.”Laura Jones, CEO of the Business Council of B.C., said tariffs “are terrible economic policy, full stop.” The challenge is to protect Canadian companies while also focusing on policies that help the domestic economy.Canada’s counter tariff schedule stretches to 18 pages, covering a bewildering list of 700 items, ranging from ornamental fish and seafood to golf clubs and fishing poles.They include levies that correspond with U.S. Section 338 tariffs on plywood and wood veneers and corrugated cardboard.That levels the playing field for Surrey-headquartered CanCorr, which manufactures cardboard and boxes, according to Baha Naemi, the company’s managing director.CanCorr typically sells about $80 million worth of product to the U.S., but Naemi said he and his competitors know that Canadian companies import far more than they export.So Naemi believes his company will be able to weather short-term disruption if they can fill in any void left by counter tariffs.The counter tariff, however, isn’t the strategy, Naemi said. If all it does is make imports more expensive, he argues Canadian businesses will lose.“The opportunity is to use this period to replace imports with Canadian production wherever we genuinely have the capacity to do so,” Naemi said.For other specialty wood producers, that will mean paying attention to other imports of products such as plywood and veneers, according to Bhavjit Thandi, chief financial officer of Richmond Plywood.In the meantime, Jones said Canada needs to “continue to support this very proportionate, calm, measured approach.”“It would be great to get back to the table with the U.S., but only with a fair deal,” Jones said. “I agree with the prime minster’s assessment — no deal is better than a bad deal.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.