Windsor, Ontario, a Canadian border town heavily reliant on cross-border trade with the United States, is bracing for economic fallout as U.S. President Donald Trump vows to impose a sweeping 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports starting Saturday.
The announcement has sparked widespread concern along the border, where the local economy hinges on trade with the United States.
Windsor, home to the 6.4-billion-dollar Gordie Howe International Bridge currently under construction, is a vital hub for goods crossing the Detroit River.
The bridge, set to open later this year, is expected to ease traffic from the nearby Ambassador Bridge, which already carries 10,000 vehicles daily.
"There's so many good things to be proud of when that bridge is going to be open and operational at the end of this year. But the biggest of all is promoting and enhancing that trade partnership we have with our biggest trading partner and ally, the United States," said Windsor Councilor Fabio Costante.
However, the looming tariffs threaten to overshadow the optimism surrounding the bridge project. Trump has cited Canada's alleged failure to curb illegal migration and drug flows as the reason for the tariffs, though his administration has not ruled out the possibility of excluding oil imports from the measure.
For Windsor, a city deeply tied to manufacturing, the economic consequences could be devastating.
"We're a city that makes things, and we manufacture goods, and a lot of those goods we manufacture to the United States. If the threat of a 25-percent tariff is realized, it's going to have a devastating impact on our local economy here, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Great Recession back in 2008, and frankly, could be even worse," said Costante.
Experts in the region are urging both governments to use this moment as an opportunity to strengthen cross-border cooperation. Marta Leardi-Anderson, executive director of the Cross Border Institute at the University of Windsor, emphasized the need for swift action.
"It's now time to react. The time between having the discussion and could we do something to doing the something, I think, has to be shortened. And I think that what this moment is demonstrating to us. It's a call to say, where can we improve for the benefit of both our countries and our communities? And we have to move to try to do that," she said.
Despite the uncertainty, Windsor continues its daily operations. But residents fear that if a trade dispute disrupts traffic across one of the busiest borders in North America, the city's recent economic progress could be reversed.
"With these tariffs, we could actually be heading in the opposite direction, contracting again, as a city," warned Costante.
Canadian border town on edge as 25 pct tariffs loom
Canadian border town on edge as 25 pct tariffs loom
