Mississauga’s business community says it needs “certainty, support and access to new markets” if it’s going to weather the storm brought on by the trade war between Canada and the U.S.
That’s the sentiment expressed this week by the Mississauga Board of Trade, which added it welcomes the City of Mississauga’s response that it will stand up for small- and medium-sized businesses and jobs during the uncertain times caused by the trade tensions between the two countries.
The board of trade, which represents some 1,000 larger businesses across the city in addition to numerous smaller operations, said it “welcomes the city’s action and will continue advocating for local businesses.”
Responding to what they call “unfair trade tariffs,” city officials met on Tuesday with the board of trade “to map out ways the city can advocate for and support small- and medium-sized businesses and jobs disrupted by uncertainty.”
The city said suspension of trade negotiations on Aug. 21 between the two nations and subsequent escalation of U.S. tariff policies against Canada “present a significant and ongoing threat to Mississauga’s businesses and workers.”
One way to fight back, the city determined, is for many of Mississauga’s businesses to “diversify into non-U.S. markets” as the trade war intensifies.
Mississauga businesses need certainty, support and access to new markets.
MBOT welcomes the City’s action and will continue advocating for local businesses.#Mississauga #MBOT #Tradehttps://t.co/Ft9IjfSRi2
— Mississauga Board of Trade (@MBOTOntario) August 26, 2026
Mississauga’s economy, officials said this week, “is particularly vulnerable to U.S. tariffs,” with 18 per cent of total employment in Canada’s seventh-largest city, roughly 89,000 jobs, “tied directly to U.S. exports.”
Key areas affected include automotive parts, machinery and electronics, plastics and rubber, furniture, and steel and aluminum products, the city added.
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“Troubling trade developments” threaten jobs, risk inflation
“As a city, we are determined to stand up and defend these jobs and sectors,” city officials said, adding they’re “encouraged that the federal government is rolling out rapid assistance to workers and businesses hit by this latest trade and economic turbulence.
“These troubling trade developments imperil jobs and risk a spike in inflation,” the city continued. “That is why we are exploring ways in which to help our local businesses.”
Mississauga officials said the city has applied to Ottawa for $1.5 million in funding under the federal Regional Tariff Response Initiative.
Securing that money “would help us deliver a trade mission acceleration program designed to help Mississauga’s small- and medium-sized businesses diversify into non-U.S. markets through export readiness training and trade missions.
“It is clear that we must diversify our international trade partnerships,” officials added.
Mayor Carolyn Parrish said this week she’s “committed to helping the most badly affected” small- and medium-sized businesses in Mississauga.
“While we do not have a full picture of the needs that exist, and the full extent of the tariff damage has yet to emerge, I stand ready to do all I can to keep Mississauga’s economy strong,” she added.
Trade war’s impact on Mississauga among big issues in mayoral race
As Mississauga’s mayoral race prepares to kick into high gear with less than two months until the Oct. 26 election, the higher-profile candidates weighed in this week on the trade-and-tariff war and its impact on the city.
Parrish was among the city officials to meet with MBOT on Tuesday in an effort to forge a path forward for city businesses and workers.
Meanwhile, her predecessor, Bonnie Crombie, who’s seeking to return to the mayor’s post after having left in 2024, on Thursday unveiled a strategy of her own for the city’s business sector.
Crombie says her “comprehensive” Tariff and Trade Resilience Plan will “protect Mississauga businesses and jobs, strengthen local and Canadian procurement, accelerate new investment and help local companies diversify into markets beyond the United States.”
The former mayor, who served in the seat for 10 years before jumping into provincial politics nearly three years ago as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, said while Washington, D.C. may set the tariffs and Ottawa may negotiate trade agreements, “Mississauga is not powerless.”
In a news release, Crombie noted that “City hall controls hundreds of millions of dollars in purchasing. It controls how quickly we pay local businesses, how quickly we approve new investment and how aggressively our mayor fights for our jobs.
Mayor Carolyn Parrish, at right, and former mayor Bonnie Crombie are among the candidates in Mississauga’s 2026 mayoral campaign.
“If a Mississauga business is fighting to keep its workers employed, city hall should be fighting alongside them,” she continued. “My plan will keep more cash in local businesses, spend more of our tax dollars here at home, move new investment through city hall faster and use advantages like Pearson Airport to help Mississauga companies reach the world.”
Crombie said her plan goes beyond examining options and “waiting for senior governments to act. It identifies specific municipal levers city hall can use now: tax policy, procurement, payment terms, approvals, investment attraction and mayoral advocacy.”
She added that, “This is not just about getting through a tariff crisis. It is about protecting the jobs we have and winning the investment and jobs of the future.”
Other mayoral hopefuls offer thoughts on the trade war
In winning the 2024 mayoral byelection in Mississauga to succeed Crombie, Parrish defeated city councillors Alvin Tedjo (Ward 2) and Dipika Damerla (Ward 7), who finished second and third, respectively, in a field of 20 candidates.
Both city councillors are running for the mayor’s office again in 2026.
Tedjo said in an online post this week, “Our national economy is under attack, so we need to take a hard look at how this will impact our city.”
Mississauga Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo sought the mayor’s seat in the 2024 byelection and he’s running again in this year’s mayoral race.
He pointed to figures that show nearly one in five jobs in Mississauga depends on trade with the U.S.
“But we’re also stronger than we look,” Tedjo said in a video posted to X. “We have a highly skilled and educated workforce. We are the most important link in several global supply chains and we’re home to the largest industrial employment zone in the entire country.”
He said a big part of the solution for Mississauga, then, is that “we work together” to weather the trade storm.
Tedjo said local compaines worried about how they’ll navigate the coming months can contact the city online via investmississauga.ca/partnersintrade for funding options.
Beyond that, the candidate said Mississauga residents, workers and businesses can “defend with your dollars. Choose Canadian products and services when you can and support Mississauga businesses.”
Additionally, “it’s up to us, Mississauga’s leaders, to do our part to attract businesses, to support new job creation and diversify our economy. That means we have to work with partners here and overseas to make our city the premier destination for North American investment.”
Mississauga Ward 7 Coun. Dipika Damerla is among the high-profile candidates seeking the mayor’s seat in the 2026 election. She also ran in the 2024 mayoral byelection in the city.
Damerla, meanwhile, said in a statement this week she supports the stance taken by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in dealing with the U.S. on trade and that “our sovereignty is not for sale.”
“We will not allow Mississauga businesses to bear the impact of unjustified tariffs that hurt businesses, workers and residents,” she added.
“As mayor, I will freeze property taxes for everyone,” promised Damerla, who’s been outspoken on the campaign trail in her belief that city taxes have been needlessly high in recent years.
The mayoral candidate noted Mississauga is home to Canada’s largest aerospace manufacturing subsector and the country’s second-largest automotive parts manufacturing cluster.
“These businesses are vital to Mississauga’s economy and to Canada’s economic strength,” Damerla said. “I will protect Mississauga businesses. Mississauga’s economic future is not for sale.”
Canadian PM called off talks in the U.S. late last week
The rejection on Aug. 21 by Carney of a proposed U.S. trade agreement — described by the PM as a “bad deal” — and subsequent suspension of talks between the two nations has raised the temperature on both sides of the border.
The breakdown in negotiations also led to the introduction by the U.S. of 50 per cent tariffs that target $28 billion in Canadian goods ranging from hockey sticks and honey to essential oils and dairy products. After being delayed by several days by U.S. President Donald Trump, the new round of tariffs took effect last Saturday.
Carney, who promised retaliatory tariffs will take effect on Sept. 8, called off talks with the Americans after accusing the U.S. administration of introducing measures that included restrictions on Canada’s ability to do deals with other countries.
Earlier in August, Mississauga doubled down on its commitment to “buy local” amid the strained trade relationship between Canada and the U.S.
Trump, who returned to the White House following the November 2024 election after having previously served from 2016 to 2020, announced on Aug. 18 he was putting a three-day pause on the tariffs.
Parrish said at the time the pause “further increases stress, particularly for our small- and medium-sized businesses.”
Continuing, the mayor added on Aug. 19 that “Mississauga’s Economic Development Department is reconfirming policies to ‘buy Canada’, ‘buy Ontario’ and ‘buy local’ in procurement policies — to strengthen our local economy.”
Trump’s second term began with a tariff surprise
Not long after taking office for his second term, Trump in short order targeted Canada and other countries, including Mexico, with surprise tariffs in early 2025.
The City of Mississauga responded quickly by offering additional support to local businesses and vowing to help in any other way it could.
Among the city’s responses in March 2025:
An amendment to the city’s procurement bylaw that allowed the city to “prioritize Canadian and non-U.S. suppliers, especially for medium- and high-value projects, and streamline the process to support more local, diverse and smaller businesses.”
A “Choose Canada” campaign launched in February 2025 encouraging residents and businesses to support the local economy by purchasing Canadian-made products and services.
Parrish told Mississauga business leaders at the time that she and the city had their backs as the trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. quickly soured in the first few months of 2025.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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