B.C. retail sector bracing for tariff tumult
March 12, 2025Tariff threats are generating cost uncertainties in B.C.’s retail sector, but for Greg Wilson, consumers should expect prices to remain relatively stable in the short term.
“If there’s a recession, there can be price drops,” said Wilson, B.C. director of government relations for the Retail Council of Canada. “That’s also a possibility [that] less demand sometimes results in price drops.”
The Americans have paused wide-reaching 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian exports. But U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports went into effect Wednesday. Ottawa plans to impose $30 billion in targeted tariffs against the Americans beginning Thursday.
“An amount of vegetables that come from the U.S. we might be able to source from Mexico,” said Wilson, who believes U.S. tariffs on their southern neighbours could open up availability for Mexican products in Canada.
