Mayor Matthew Shoemaker spoke with PBS News Hour about impacts of the trade war with the U.S.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government\u2019s tariffs have resulted in \u201csignificant economic impact\u201d in both the Canadian and American Sault Ste. Marie alike, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker recently told American media.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Shoemaker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he said the twin Saults\u2019 close ties make it \u201cone city across two nations,\u201d Shoemaker told PBS there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a real desire to see a pushback on the American policy for quite some time,\u201d Shoemaker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve tried to create Canadian supply chains and Canadian markets for Canadian steel, but the reality is \u2013 without retaliatory tariffs \u2013 it felt like it was a fight we were fighting with\u00a0one-armed tied behind our back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following Premier Doug Ford\u2019s colourful outburst in recent weeks, where he said U.S. President Donald Trump could \u201ckiss my ass,\u201d Shoemaker was asked whether the premier\u2019s remarks accurately reflect the feelings of Canadians.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Despite close ties, Shoemaker said many are answering U.S. tariffs and rhetoric \u201cwith their wallets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBridge 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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