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American president Donald Trump's newly assigned 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum have caused international reaction, including here in Saskatchewan with the province's own steel industry heavily impacted. Leaders of United Steelworkers gathered in Manitou Beach on Wednesday, June 4 to share information and respond in the latest wave of tariffs, claimed by the American president to be in aid of national security and domestic work protection.
The response was quick from Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario premier Doug Ford, both of whom claimed the tariffs are illegal and wholly unnecessary as well as hurtful to both American and Canadian economies.
The consensus was similar at the Saskatchewan gathering where opposition leader Carla Beck brought her take to the assembled workers.
“We can’t sit back and pretend this is business as usual,” Beck said during the assembly. “Donald Trump is trying to crush our economy and treat us like his 51st state. Clearly, we need to reduce reliance on the United States as a trading partner and take real action to boost trade across provinces and to new foreign markets. We need to create good-paying steel jobs and to fight back with retaliatory measures against these punitive measures from Trump.”
“Saskatchewan steel supports good jobs, strong communities and our country’s economic sovereignty,” said Scott Lunny, USW District 3 Director. “Trump’s tariffs are hurting workers and creating chaos for Canadian businesses. We need to take action—prioritize Saskatchewan steel in public projects, invest in our domestic industries and fight back against unfair trade practices.”
In an interview following her address, Beck went on to say that the meeting had been planned for some time, but it coincided with Trump’s making good on his threats to double steel tariffs.
“With the 25 per cent tariffs before today, we already saw a loss of jobs, loss of contracts,” Beck said. “Today, the message was really about redoubling our efforts to get things built in this country. We need to be building those pipelines, the interties, the rail lines with Canadian steel, and building them in a way that the benefits are shared with Canadian workers like the folks here in this room.”
Beck said whether the workers are supporting the construction industry, potash or uranium development, telecom expansion or other ventures, Canadian steelworkers are people who know how to work hard, and they want to be part of building the future of the country.
Beck added that she was encouraged with the messaging coming out of the First Ministers meeting held down the road in Saskatoon.
“This has been a chaotic year, not the least of which front of mind is the terrible forest fire situation,” Beck acknowledged. “If there is a silver lining to the chaos that we’ve seen coming largely from our neighbours to the south, it’s that we have as near a consensus in the country as we’ve had certainly in my lifetime. We need to get things built, we need to reduce reliance on trade with the United States; we need to expand markets, and we need the infrastructure that allows us to meet the challenges not only of today but build for the future of this country.”
Beck said that it’s incumbent on provincial and federal leaders to work across party lines to put the talk into action. She called for an end to steel and other contracts going to the United States, focusing instead on our own quality products and able workers.
Mike Day, president of USW Local 5890, said that in prior meetings, workers had addressed the potential impact, but the scope and magnitude of the damage is a bit uncertain.
“The Federal Government needs to do something,” Day asserts. “They are talking about national infrastructure projects using Canadian materials, and that’s great. But a lot of the issue that stems in our Regina plant is private industry that’s still bringing in offshore pipe and steel, and that creates havoc in the industry.”
Day says that could require legislative action that redirects trade to domestic sources and workers to counter the tariff measures. Failure to do so could decimate the industry, he fears.
It’s a moment for strong action and a mind to reset the province and the country, Carla Beck proposes.
“Time and time again, we’ve seen people putting up their hand and not just complaining about what’s wrong but offering to be part of the solution.”