President Trump took a swipe at Canada’s corporate sector on September 9, posting on Truth Social that he wants Canadian-origin products removed from the US General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules. Those schedules are the backbone of federal procurement, facilitating more than $50B in annual government purchasing. Canadian stocks with US government exposure promptly did what stocks do when someone threatens to cut off a major revenue stream: they fell.
Shares of CGI Inc., WSP Global, AtkinsRealis, Stantec, and Aecon Group all dropped more than 2% in early trading. Bombardier had it worse, sliding 7-8% to around C$293.49 after separate threats emerged about blocking its aircraft sales in the US market.
What Trump actually ordered
The directive specifically targets the removal of “Canadian-origin products” from the GSA’s procurement framework. Trump framed the move as a response to what he characterized as Canadian governments failing to provide reciprocal access to US firms in their own procurement processes.
The timing is deliberate. Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20B worth of US goods around September 8, one day before Trump’s announcement. The US is also preparing import bans on specific Canadian products, including alcohol and dairy, set to take effect on September 29.
