Just how much trouble is Canada’s economy in?

While the majority of products are exempt from US tariffs under the current free trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico – the USMCA – the White House has imposed tariffs on specific sectors, including 15% to 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper – the ones proving challenging to White – and 25% tariffs on vehicles.

“What’s key is just that there are these different parts of the economy or the country that are affected differently,” said Kronick from the economic think tank.

“We’ve seen big changes in [auto hubs] Brampton and Windsor and changes where steel, aluminum, and autos are all impacted. I think they’re experiencing it far more acutely than, perhaps, people in downtown Toronto.”

Ottawa is negotiating with the US both to reduce these sectoral tariffs and on a review of the USMCA but have yet to reach a deal. Businesses in Canada just want certainty.

So, how is Canada positioned for the future?

Kronick said Canada’s economy has some structural issues feeding the stagnation, such as trade barriers between provinces – things like different trucking requirements, or professional licensing – and a tax system he calls “uncompetitive”.

But there are some fundamental strengths too.

“If you were drawing up a country from scratch, a well-educated, well-resourced, not overpopulated country would be what you would want, right? So, I think Canada has all those things, all those features,” he said.

“I think we just have to unlock them.”

With additional reporting by Nadine Yousif