This article was published previously on CambridgeToday.
Closely on the heels of the Region of Waterloo and other local municipalities, the City of Cambridge has committed to a buy-Canadian approach to help mitigate the potential impact of U.S. tariffs.
Mayor Jan Liggett tabled the motion at last night's special council meeting, calling for the city to make a commitment to supporting residents and businesses as it navigates the potential impacts of proposed tariffs from the U.S. government "through continued engagement and consultation with the business community to better understand their evolving needs."
"Cambridge is home to a thriving business community representing small businesses, medium and large Canadian-owned companies and international firms that contribute to the strong and vibrant local economy," she said before outlining her requests to staff.
The mayor wants to work with staff to conduct a comprehensive review and analysis focused on minimizing the impact of the proposed tariffs on the Cambridge community and has asked staff to work in partnership with economic development partners.
They include the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Waterloo Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), and the Business Economic Support Team Waterloo Region (BEST WR) as well as with municipal peers, and provincial and federal levels of government to mitigate effects, advocate for businesses, and support our local economy
Further to that, staff has been directed to review procurement policies and practices to determine the feasibility of a Buy Canadian products approach and to continue to assess the city's operations and sourcing strategies "to minimize disruptions and ensure City services and projects remain affordable."
Coun. Scott Hamilton joined the rest of council in full agreement of the motion and said these are "unexpected and unprecedented times so it's very important to show unity as a council, as a city, a province and country that we won't stand economic warfare against our persons and our cities."
He said discussions leading up to the motion considered calling for progress on removing inter-provincial trade barriers but that seemed just "outside of the scope of the city" to ask.
Dating back to the Meech Lake Accord, he said it's a fact that it's easier to trade with Italy than it is with British Columbia.
"If we want to facilitate true free trade within our own country it's important for us to break down those provincial trade barriers to ensure we maximize the economic potential of our cities, our province and our country as a whole."
Despite that, Hamilton said the motion is strong as it is.
Coun. Adam Cooper said it's a scary situation for many in the city and across the country, particularly those working in the industries that are going to be immediately affected by the tariffs.
He urged other municipalities to do the same to unite together against the threat.
Liggett, who has joined the Big City Mayors group on tariffs and trade, said she worked with staff on the motion to make sure it wasn't performative "when we really need to get to the meat of what we can do legally."
"I can tell you every single mayor in this province, this country is scrambling right now. We have no idea what's coming forward. We're going to do everything we can to protect the companies in this region."
Three companies in Cambridge, she said, will directly be affected and they employ about 9,000.
She also expressed concern about the buy-Canadian movement leading to calls to boycott U.S.-based companies like Frito-Lay, which employs 1,000 people in Cambridge.
"Whether a company is known internationally should have nothing to do with that," she said. "They may be an American owned company but they employ a lot of people here in this community and this country so we have to be very, very careful."