U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum went into effect this morning and will harm Hamilton’s steel sector.
The impacts will ripple across Hamilton’s economy.
CBC’s national newscast broadcast a live report from City Hall with the mayor’s reaction to the tariffs. CHCH also interviewed the mayor.
The Mayor and senior City of Hamilton staff are working with local companies to mitigate the effects of the tariffs.
The municipality has few direct means of supporting the steel industry. Hamilton is pushing the provincial and federal governments to provide robust support.
Today, the Mayor said the federal government needs to work with the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority to improve port infrastructure, enabling Hamilton’s steel industry to ship more effectively into foreign markets.
Earlier today, Prime Minister designate Mark Carney visited ArcelorMittal Dofasco.
During the Mayor’s media availability on Monday, City finance staff stated they are researching options to assist local businesses, including temporary relief from development charges. A report will be presented to Council no later than June.
Updates: 5:00 p.m.
Mayor Horwath will be on CNN around 6:30 p.m. this evening.
From early today, the Mayor’s interview with CP24 on YouTube.
No later than June? We can move faster than that.
I just wrote an opinion piece on cutting development charges—it was published on March 2nd. If they take a page from Mississauga, like I did, this should be wrapped up in four weeks or less.
Shoutout to Mr. Coleman for the great local reporting that put Mississauga’s approach on my radar. Hopefully, the Mayor is reading The Public Record too!