Since President Trump’s inauguration, Canada has borne the brunt of an unprecedented wave of trade aggressions gripping the global economy. The imposition of tariffs on a broad range of Canadian industries, including auto, aluminum, forestry and steel, has led to job losses and investment declines on both sides of the border. After the Canadian government rightly backed away from what would have been a concession-laden trade arrangement with the Trump Administration, the U.S.-led trade war on Canada will continue – and likely worsen. Unifor must be ready to respond.

Since the first wave of tariffs were dropped, Unifor members in all regions and industries, have demanded governments respond decisively to Trump’s actions with forceful countermeasures and a comprehensive support for affected workers. Few countries, other than Canada, have taken Trump to task. It’s by leveraging our economic strengths, not cowering to Trump’s whims, that will bring this trade dispute to a head.

Canada is now eighteen months into Trump’s trade assault, and navigating wave after wave of U.S. tariffs imposed under the most insincere and legally groundless justifications. Trump’s latest batch of section 338 tariffs against Canada reflect the President’s appetite for bully tactics.

Up to now, there have been tensions within civil society on how best to respond. Bay Street bankers, consumer advocacy groups and certain businesses think Canada should accept U.S. pressure and sign a deal whatever the cost. While the cost of a bad deal to stock-traders and financiers might be minimal, the cost to workers is far too high.

Any move that concedes Canada’s industrial economy, our homegrown media industry, our strong regulatory standards – all of which the U.S. wants – effectively concedes our sovereignty.

This dispute is about so much more than tariffs. It’s about our country being able to build, to source, and to determine the things that Canada needs. It’s about protecting good union jobs. It’s about crafting trade policy that seeks mutual interest and fairness.

Despite notable efforts by government, including modest counter-tariffs, a new Buy Canadian procurement strategy and removing U.S. liquor from shelves, Canada’s manufacturing, metals and forestry workplaces continue to bleed jobs and investment. Transportation, logistics and service sector workers face knock-on job losses as investment is pulled from the country. Media and telecommunications workers continue to navigate job loss and outsourcing. And while the insatiable demand for Canadian energy, potash and minerals is a distinct domestic advantage, our downstream value chain is underdeveloped, and our processing capacity is falling away.
It is unacceptable for US tariffs imposed on Canada to become the “new normal.” The fact is, Canada is unlike any other U.S. trade partner, with interlinked supply chains, joint production of industrial goods and a shared consumer market. The U.S. buys most of what Canada builds, and vice versa. That’s why even the “lowest tariff in the world”, in the Prime Minster’s own words, is still a bad deal for Canadian workers. It imperils the future of hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs that are export dependent. Unifor members experience this insecurity firsthand and, through the Protect Canadian Jobs campaign, are on the frontlines of the fight.
As your President, I am ensuring our voices are heard directly at the highest levels. Recently appointed to Prime Minister Carney’s Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations, I will use this vital platform to guarantee that protecting Unifor jobs and countering these tariffs remains central to our federal government's trade strategy."

In light of ongoing trade uncertainty, a pending Canada-U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA) review, and the ongoing threat of US tariffs, I recommend that Unifor’s regional councils, industry councils and local unions:

• Engage in forthcoming federal and provincial government consultations to determine advanced countermeasures against U.S. trade aggression. The National Union shall continue its work with the federal government, cabinet ministers and across federal departments, advocating that Canada’s countermeasure strategy reflects Unifor’s priorities, protects good union jobs, and advances the union’s industrial development efforts.
• Call on government to exercise significant leverage in this ongoing trade dispute, including in areas where Canada maintains economic advantage.
• Engage regional councils, industry councils, local unions and members in federal and provincial organizing efforts to Protect Canadian Jobs, so that politicians remain answerable to constituents whose jobs are on the line in this trade war.
• Re-commit support to the national Protect Canadian Jobs campaign, its calls to action, and to use this campaign as a platform on which to develop sector-targeted strategies and membership engagement efforts, including regular updates and communications to local unions.

Protecting the integrity of Canadian supply chains by prohibiting goods manufactured by forced labour is essential in protecting good Canadian jobs and safeguarding industries from unfair competition.

The establishment and respect of fundamental labour standards and labour rights must underpin global supply chains, to protect workers and avoid a collective ‘race-to-the-bottom’.

Corporations must maintain transparency and accountability for labour and human rights abuses across their entire global supply chains – from sourcing raw materials, processing, manufacturing, transportation, logistics and retail.

The eradication of modern slavery is moral and economic imperative and a global responsibility that requires coordinated strategies and joint actions between national governments, international bodies, labour unions and employers.

As Unifor National President, I recommend that Unifor:

• Advocate for comprehensive and enforceable Canadian federal due diligence legislation that aims to strictly prohibit the importation of goods manufactured with forced labour, child labour or sourced from jurisdictions with documented record and evidence of widespread, systematic human and labour rights abuses and/or crimes against humanity;
• Advocate for improvements to further strengthen federal Bill C-35, An Act respecting the prohibition of the importation of goods produced by forced labour, holding importers accountable and to demonstrate that goods imported into Canada are not made with forced labour.
• Advocate for the reinstatement of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), as an independent body to meaningfully review and investigate complaints about possible labour and human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating globally;
• Advocate for robust procurement policies and audits for all federal, provincial and municipal governments that bar vendors, suppliers and contractors from receiving public contracts if they fail to demonstrate compliance to domestic and internationally recognized labour rights and standards across their supply chains;
• Promote the inclusion of robust and binding labour chapters in all bilateral and multilateral trade agreements negotiated by Canada that aims to improve labour rights and working conditions and includes meaningful enforcement mechanisms and rapid dispute resolution processes, enforced by trade sanctions;
• Work with international allied organizations, civil society groups, national trade unions and Global Union Federation partners to promote the ratification, implementation and enforcement of international conventions banning the use of forced and child labour.

Canada’s forest industry has long been an industrial cornerstone in many regions and a major national economic driver. However, the industrial model on which it has relied for decades is now showing clear signs of crisis.

Built around the production and export of pulp, paper, and primarily softwood lumber, this ecosystem is facing a series of structural transformations that are undermining its viability. Several traditional segments of the sector are in marked decline, and the sawmilling industry remains heavily dependent on the U.S. market, exposing it to chronic price volatility and an ongoing trade dispute.

This context is already resulting in facility closures, increased pressure on corporate profitability, and a risk of deteriorating working conditions in a sector that has historically provided high-quality jobs in many regions of the country. Forestry workers and their families and forestry-dependent communities across the country are struggling, and they deserve immediate and comprehensive support.

The forest industry is facing a dual fragility that is compromising its recovery. On the one hand, wood supply is becoming increasingly uncertain and volatile, due to the combined effects of climate change-driven wildfires, insect infestations, environmental restrictions, and competing land uses, all of which undermine the predictability of operations.

On the other hand, deficient forest management — characterized by fragmented, inefficient, and inadequate frameworks, particularly in public forests — is undermining the financial viability of the sector. Without the responsible modernization of forest management practices, recovery from the crisis appears unlikely, as does the ability to attract the private investment required for sector transformation.

Creating a responsible and inclusive forestry sector will require sustained, constructive, and respectful engagement with Indigenous people in a spirit of cultural, territorial and economic reconciliation.

At the same time, the increased use of wood products right here in Canada, one of the most accessible and expedient way to relieve some of the pressure, is struggling to grow at scale. Several existing higher value-added wood products are not deployed to their full potential, and promising innovations are failing to reach commercialization due to insufficient investment and a lack of a domestic market capable of supporting their deployment.

Despite these warning signs, public interventions remain largely fragmented and reactive. To date, Canada does not have an integrated industrial strategy capable of guiding the modernization of its forest sector, supporting value chain adaptation, and mobilizing the public policy tools needed to structure a new phase of development. Ultimately, the country also lacks the capacity and appropriate mechanisms to effectively support workers affected by these disruptions in order to achieve a just transition.

As Unifor National President, I recommend that Unifor:

• Call on the federal, provincial, and municipal governments to develop a national industrial strategy that identifies the distinctive strengths and gaps of Canada’s forest sector, establishes medium and long-term development priorities as well as urgent short-term transition supports, and mobilizes all legislative and regulatory levers to achieve them. This strategy should include an inclusive steering body and provide space for the voice of workers;
• Advocate with the federal government to create an industrial transformation fund to send a strong signal and restore confidence. For decades, parts of the forestry sector have suffered from chronic underinvestment, leaving some facilities in a deteriorated state and complicating the path toward renewal. However, public funding must be conditional on modernization and forward-looking investments. It cannot be used to sustain business as usual;
• Fight for a more proactive and forward-looking approach to just transition for workers and make transition funds available immediately for workers who need urgent support. Move from a reactive (post-closure) model to a preventive approach that enables workers and communities to prepare in advance for structural changes in the sector. Workers require stabilized workplaces, and their priority is to adapt unionized workplaces in ways that preserve existing working conditions. In cases of more significant disruption, they require robust immediate support to keep people at work and comprehensive transition assistance.