Vancouver, B.C. — Today’s announcement from the federal government marked Canada’s economic response to the breakdown of trade negotiations between Canada and the United States last Friday. Given the potential impacts on our industry, we wanted to share the information below, including a summary of the announcement, available business supports, and a statement from the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC).
Effective September 8, 2026, Canada will be moving forward with reciprocal tariffs of 15, 25, and 50 per cent on incoming U.S. products, with individual product rates based on the matching U.S. rate for the same goods.
These counter tariffs will apply to products covering $27.6 billion in imports, focusing heavily on the steel, electronics, agricultural equipment and appliance industries. Of importance as well, announced from Minister of Finance and National Revenue, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne this morning, is that the remissions framework will remain available to assess requests for exceptional relief.
In terms of the list of products where counter tariffs will apply, the federal government is maintaining a similar approach to what it had adopted last year; largely consumer-driven products where a Canadian or other alternative are generally available, in order to mitigate the impact on Canadian consumers and support “Buy Canadian” efforts.
A full list of products is available online:
In addition to announcing today’s counter tariffs, the government also announced a $7.5 billion support package, including, but not limited to:
Supports for Businesses
Expanded Regional Tariff Response Initiative
- Cap on non repayable contributions will increase from $1 million to $3 million.
- Liquidity support will be available for up to $2 million, in addition to existing support for pivot or capital investment plans.
- Program delivery through Regional Development Agencies.
Business Development Bank of Canada Pivot to Grow
- Second $500m liquidity stream providing working capital to businesses facing cashflow shortfalls.
- Will be available to companies directly impacted by tariffs, regardless of sector.
- Loans range from $250,000 to $5 million, with interest only payments over 36 months.
- Annual revenue requirements for applicants lowered to $1 million.
Canada Strong Diversification Fund
- New stream of Strategic Response Fund, with an additional $2 billion in funding, expanded flexibility to support tariff impacted companies with shovel ready projects that support ongoing capital maintenance.
Expanding Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility
- Providing the flexible liquidity needed to bridge large employers by:
- Increasing the size of liquidity supports from 24 to 36 months of liquidity needs
- Increasing maximum loan term from 10 to 15 years
Other
Employees
- Extending the temporary measures to:
- Waive the one-week waiting period
- Allow receipt of benefits without first using up separation payments by one year
- Extending the temporary measure that provides an extra 20 weeks of regular benefits for long tenured workers by 8 months.
- Introducing a one-year measure allowing workers who have voluntarily left jobs are no longer penalized when they want to access EI (as long as their most recent job loss is through no fault of their own).
Employers
- Introducing new Workforce Retention and Retraining program, combining existing EI Work-Sharing program and Worker Retention Grant into a single streamlined program. Employers will be eligible for additional funds to cover training and administrative costs (up to $1,000 per participant).
More information on these supports is available here:
MCAC Statement
With today’s announcement, MCAC has offered the following statement:
In the face of an escalating trade conflict, the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC) recognizes the need to take a principled stand in the face of aggressive trade practices, and we remain committed to supporting a strong and resilient Canadian economy through the hard work of Canada’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contracting sector. At the same time, MCAC recognizes that any ongoing trade conflict will only serve to reduce investment in the North American economy through supply chain challenges and ongoing economic uncertainty, and the association remains supportive of efforts to end trade hostilities between Canada and the United States.
As an association, we will continue to advocate for the best interests of our members and our sector as the country faces economic headwinds because of this ongoing trade dispute.
Next Steps
As we work through this continuing process, MCAC and MCABC encourage members to get in touch with our office to share any concerns there may be about any particular product categories. The more information we have to support advocacy efforts in the weeks ahead, the better positioned our associations will be.
If you have questions or concerns regarding how these measures may impact your business, please contact the MCABC team.
As always, if there is anything else we can provide in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
About MCABC
The Mechanical Contractors Association of B.C. (MCABC) is the only dedicated representative for the mechanical contracting industry in British Columbia—the industry with the largest share of skilled trades workers in the construction sector. As the connection to industry excellence for our diverse membership, we deliver education and professional development programs that enable high standards of practice and business success. Through advocacy and strong industry partnerships, we influence policy and regulatory development at all levels of government, advancing the interests of our industry and improving its ability to meet B.C.’s growing infrastructure demand.
Media Contact
Conor Brendan Dunne
Manager, Communications & Stakeholder Engagement
cdunne@mcabc.org
(604) 205-5058
