Ontario produce growers talk tariffs

By Tamara Botting

On Jan. 20, 2025 – the first day of his second term as President of the United States – Donald Trump announced that he would be imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. as of Feb. 1. The tariffs were then paused for a month, implemented for a few days, then largely removed, and are now possibly going to be back on on April 2.

This article was written on March 31, and the information contained in it was up to date as of that time; however, the nebulous nature of this situation means that things could have changed again after publication.

And that’s exactly the problem.

As Shawn Brenn, chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA), noted, “The mere uncertainty and instability caused by the threat of tariffs is causing real harm and struggles for many of our farms. … We have seen orders for Canadian produce being cancelled, wholesale prices of produce being depressed, and farms unable to move ahead with important decisions like hiring or investments into new equipment or expansion of their farm.”

It’s a similar story for members of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG), said executive director Richard Lee.

“The proposed tariffs have had a detrimental impact on Ontario greenhouse vegetable producers,” he said.

In the 72 hours in early March when the tariffs were broadly applied against all Canadian exports into the U.S., “our members paid over $6 million in tariffs,” Lee said. “This money will not be recovered and in many instances resulted in the grower and marketers absorbing the losses.”

This was because purchase orders for the week had already been issued.

The OGVG has engaged a trade lawyer to provide members with some direction as they try to navigate this turbulent situation that is full of unknowns.

“The tariffs were implemented rapidly with little to no guidance,” Lee said.

Beyond that, “The threats of tariffs have created significant uncertainties for all our members that are looking to invest or expand operations while maintaining relationships with existing customers.”

All of the uncertainty could in turn significantly impact farm jobs in Canada, Brenn said, since “farms reliant on export markets may decide to slow down production, leading to the displacement of employees.”

Over 85 per cent – approximately 200 truckloads a day – of Ontario’s greenhouse vegetables, as well as a significant proportion of other crops, such as field and processing vegetables, are exported to the U.S. annually.

It’s a vital trade partnership, not only because of how large it is, but also because there aren’t many alternatives.

As Brenn noted, “The high perishability of fresh produce also limits efforts to diversify into new markets, such as Asia, as the distance to other markets and the resulting transport time is just too great.”

Lee pointed out that while in the short term, “there is no viable option for the U.S. to displace the produce we or Mexico supply in a timely manner,” it’s a different scenario long-term.

“If tariffs continue, the increased costs will be felt by the U.S. consumer … further jeopardizing food affordability, healthier eating habits and inflationary pressures.”

All of this would likely result in “decreased demand in the future” for Ontario-grown produce, Lee said.

The possible U.S. consumer demand gap isn’t one that can be filled by the Canadian market either, Brenn said.

“We as Canadians can’t simply eat our way out of this tariff situation.”

That might not be the only challenge on the horizon, Brenn said; “The possibility of Mexico – who is also facing tariff threats from the U.S. – shipping excess product to Canada, further disrupting Canada’s local market, (is) also of significant concern.”

Lee said his organization, along with industry allies including Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC), Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA), Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), and the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), has been advocating for supports for farmers across Canada at both the federal and provincial levels, in the absence of a resolution to the trade war with the U.S.

“Tariffs will only further jeopardize domestic food security for all countries involved and further aggravate the affordability crisis so many have been struggling to manage,” he said.

While U.S. consumers pay the tariffs their country implements, Canadians might soon feel a similar pinch in their wallets. In response to Trump’s threat of more tariffs being put in place on April 2, Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated that he would employ retaliatory tariffs.

Brenn said these must be applied very mindfully, “or they can have a potentially detrimental impact on our domestic food production. For example, when counter tariffs are applied to imported inputs from the U.S. that are needed to grow our crops, such as packaging, equipment, machinery parts, seed, fertilizer, chemicals, etc., this can cause our domestic production costs to escalate, potentially leading to higher grocery prices.”

Along with the uncertainty of what will come out of the U.S. next is the question of how Canada will respond, as the federal election is taking place on April 28.

While those results weren’t known before print deadline, the Ontario election already took place earlier this year, meaning that the local MPPs are in position and ready to advocate for their constituents at the provincial level.

Progressive Conservative MPP for Brantford-Brant Will Bouma noted that “The tariffs imposed by President Trump are jeopardizing a decades-long trade relationship that generates $45 billion in agri-food trade every year.”

He added that the Ontario government is committed to protecting the province’s agri-food sector and its 871,000 workers.

“We want to cultivate the conditions for our sector’s long-term resilience and global competitiveness,” Bouma said.

He noted that in January, the Ontario government had increased the Risk Management Program from $150 million to $250 million, and that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness is in regular communication with its federal counterparts, “and will continue to work hand in hand with them to make sure Ontario farmers have the support they need.”

Independent MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk Bobbi Ann Brady said she wants to see the Ontario government focus on cutting red tape and taxes.

“We can only control what happens on this side of the border; now is the time for decisive action,” Brady said, adding that she’d like to see some interprovincial trade barriers removed, and more effort put into establishing different international trade partners.

“We must be able to become more self reliant and less reliant on trade with the United States, if they continue to be an unpredictable trading partner,” she said.

While government officials are looking at other options for trade partners, there is arguably some value in trying to salvage what was in place, if it can be done for the benefit of all parties.

Brenn said the OFVGA “strongly supports free trade between Canada and the U.S.

“We believe that using food in trade disputes benefits neither farmers nor consumers and for this reason we urge government to work toward a place where there are no tariffs on food products. Imposing tariffs on fresh produce would raise consumer prices and reduce access to healthy food across North America.”

As Lee noted, the simple fact is, “No one wins a trade war.”

TARIFF TIMELINE

United States President Donald Trump has imposed, paused and threatened tariffs on goods coming into his country from Canada and other nations multiple times since taking office in January 2025. Here’s a timeline for the Canadian-specific incidents:

• On Jan. 20, Trump announced that on Feb. 1, there would be an additional 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico to the US.

• On Feb. 1, Trump signed the executive order to impose the tariffs on almost all goods from Canada and Mexico, and a 10 per cent tariff on China.

• Two days later, on Feb. 3, Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on the tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while also threatening new tariffs against the European Union.

• On March 4, the tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China went into effect; then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put a 25 per cent tariff on $155 billion of American goods.

• The next day – following an outcry from U.S. automakers – Trump announced a pause on tariffs on cars coming into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico for one month.

• On March 6, Trump suspended many of the tariffs that he had placed on products from Canada and Mexico.

• On March 10, Ontario announced its own tariffs, which included a 25 per cent surcharge on the electricity it exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York. In response, on March 11, Trump threatened to double the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports; eventually, both sides backed down.

• The U.S. announced more tariffs to come into effect on April 2, which Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney said would be met with retaliatory tariffs. 