Trade war causing ‘significant’ impact on twin Saults, Shoemaker told American news outlet

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker spoke with PBS News Hour about impacts of the trade war with the U.S.

The U.S. government’s tariffs have resulted in “significant economic impact” in both the Canadian and American Sault Ste. Marie alike, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker recently told American media.

In an interview this week with PBS News Hour, the mayor said the 50-per-cent tariffs levied on Canadian steel have resulted in not only job losses and grim economic impacts on the northern side of the border, but also in less disposable income making its way to the states.

“The retail, the restaurants, the coffee shops on the American side rely on Canadians going across and spending the dollars that they earn or derive from the steel plant,” Shoemaker said.

“It really does have a significant economic impact in Sault Michigan when Sault Ontario is not doing well, and right now Sault Ontario is hurting as a result of decisions being made in Washington.”

Although he said the twin Saults’ close ties make it “one city across two nations,” Shoemaker told PBS there’s been a strong appetite on the northern side of the border to see the Canadian government hit back against escalating U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.

On Sept. 8, the Canadian government imposed tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of American goods after the Trump administration enacted its own tariffs following the collapse of trade talks in August.

“There’s a real desire to see a pushback on the American policy for quite some time,” Shoemaker said.

“We’ve tried to create Canadian supply chains and Canadian markets for Canadian steel, but the reality is – without retaliatory tariffs – it felt like it was a fight we were fighting with one-armed tied behind our back.”

Following Premier Doug Ford’s colourful outburst in recent weeks, where he said U.S. President Donald Trump could “kiss my ass,” Shoemaker was asked whether the premier’s remarks accurately reflect the feelings of Canadians.

“Absolutely,” the mayor said.

“I think that the insults that we have had coming towards our prime minister and towards our premier have been unwarranted. They’ve been unwelcome, and people have had it with those types of insults.”

It’s an unfortunate situation with the anniversary of 9/11 coming up, the mayor said, adding that Canadians opened their airports and homes to Americans who needed to land after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre.

Despite close ties, Shoemaker said many are answering U.S. tariffs and rhetoric “with their wallets.”

“Bridge traffic is down 30 per cent from its standard numbers. The number of people cancelling vacations, at least what we hear anecdotally, locally, is significant,” he said.

“Nobody is going across to Sault Michigan to golf anymore in the summer, and there is a real economic impact that people are voting with their wallets, so to speak, on how they feel about these tariffs.”