‘Horror show’: Canadian businesses prepare for worst as Ottawa readies counter-tariffs on U.S.

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TORONTO – Canadians could soon be paying more for products ranging from fish to smartphones, appliances to cosmetics as Ottawa unveiled a list of items that will soon be hit with 50 per cent tariffs.

But it’s not just consumers who will soon be paying more, with fibre optic cables, building material and carpet also among the soon-to-be-tariffed products.

“Without using a bad term, a horror show,” is how Steve deWeerd, the owner of Brentview Electronics in Toronto, described the current situation. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge. I mean, we’re up in the air like everybody is right now on what is actually going to get hit.”

Brentview sells electronics, including speakers and televisions, and also does large audiovisual installs for homes and condominiums. If prices skyrocket overnight, deWeerd worries many would-be customers will hold off on purchases.

“If there is a 50 per cent cost on wire that we put in new construction houses or renovations, it’s going to bring the whole budget up and might put the average consumer on a holding pattern,” he said.

Shampoo, cosmetics and nail polish were also included in the list, which could lead to a jump in costs for Stella Pham, who just opened a nail salon in mid-town Toronto. She hopes it won’t force her to raise prices so soon after opening.

“We will make the best way for our clients to be happy and for us to be happy,” she said.

Also on the list are materials considered vital for infrastructure, including fibre optic cables, network cables and building materials.

Evan Light, a professor at the University of Toronto, said tariffs could impact Canada’s effort to ramp up the construction of new homes.

“Whether people are building homes or developers are building homes, or whether they are looking to build data centres, or universities, (tariffs) will be changing how we look at expenses in a big way,” he said.

While deWeerd says he may stock up on some items before tariffs kick in, he says the uncertainty of what will happen is what’s most difficult to plan for.

“It’s going to get even harder as of today,” he said. “Before we would have a timeline for customers and have a little buffer zone if it was coming in from the States. Now, we don’t know what’s happening tomorrow, and you could sell something to a client and be negative profitability by the time it comes in.”