Buying Canadian will now officially be a priority for the Town of Hanover.
At Monday's meeting, council unanimously passed a “buy Canadian” resolution, which Mayor Sue Paterson said will prioritize Canadian businesses to assist with strengthening the town's resiliency during a time of possible tariffs.
The resolution includes supporting buy Canadian initiatives from other levels of government, requesting the federal and provincial governments collaborate with municipalities on measures to protect local consumers and businesses, and getting the upper levels of government to remove barriers to engaging Canadian companies for capital projects and supplies where feasible. The town will be notifying the Prime Minister's Office, the Premier's Office, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and all local municipalities about its new resolution.
“I encourage all residents in Hanover and area to support our Team Canada businesses by choosing Canadian – made products and services. During this time, this is necessary for resiliency to maintain jobs, stabilize prices and strengthen our local economy," Paterson said in a statement.
The move by Hanover council came one day before 10 per cent energy tariffs and 25 per cent tariffs on all other Canadian goods entering the United States were to go into effect. Those tariffs were ultimately paused for at least 30 days by U.S. President Donald Trump after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to implement a previously announced $1.3-billion border security plan and appoint a so-called fentanyl czar to help stop drugs from crossing from Canada into the U.S.
Focusing on buying Canadian could provide a large boost to companies and businesses across the country. According to data from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, municipalities across the province are expected to spend between $250 to $290 billion on infrastructure over the next decade.