The Globe and Mail
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Matthew Scace, Temur Durrani, Laura Stone
In Calgary, city officials are projecting new tariff costs reaching close to half a billion dollars.
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officials → project → dollars
Other cities across the country are anticipating economic pain in their communities.
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cities → anticipate → communities
Candidates for local government, expecting turmoil, are turning to trade as a campaign issue in approaching municipal elections.
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Candidates → expect → elections
Canada’s trade war with the United States is beginning to hit home for municipalities.
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war → begin → municipalities
And with the possibility of tariffs and countertariffs lasting months or years, cities are starting to look into how the trade war could blow holes in their budgets.
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war → last → budgets
“Municipalities are bracing for this,” Tim Tierney, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said in an interview.
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Tierney → brace → interview
Local governments are on the front lines of the trade war, but many of them don’t have extra money to spare for spiralling costs.
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many → have → costs
“Municipalities need the money.
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Municipalities → need → money
We can’t simply talk about it and plan for the future and do it in future budgets.
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We → talk → budgets
The money is needed now.”
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money → need → ?
On Sept. 8, administrators with the City of Calgary estimated the latest tariffs and retaliatory measures by the U.S. and Canadian governments could cost the city between $315-million and $466-million on the remaining lifespan of existing contracts.
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tariffs → estimate → contracts
Calgary’s financial projections underscore the challenges ahead for municipalities if the trade war continues in the longer term, a reality for which Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the country should prepare.
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country → underscore → which
Most municipalities across Canada haven’t assessed the extra costs that tariffs will inflict on their budgets but are preparing for deep economic wounds.
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tariffs → assess → wounds
The issue is becoming an increasingly important factor for voters in the lead up to municipal elections in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.
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issue → become → Ontario
In Calgary, even though 95 per cent of the city’s contracts come from Canadian suppliers, many of those contractors are exposed to tariffs because they source materials from the U.S., Bill Black, chief executive officer of the Calgary Construction Association, said in an interview.
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Black → come → interview
Calgary’s estimates show the city’s transit system is now likely to face $84-million in tariff costs on top of $535-million in future spending that city hall has already committed to its transportation network.
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hall → show → network
Scotia Place, the glitzy $800-million arena scheduled to open at the beginning of the Calgary Flames’ 2027-28 season, is expected to face an extra $30-million in tariff costs, and projects for Calgary’s aging water infrastructure will feel the bite of an additional $21-million price tag.
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projects → schedule → tag
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said the extra costs would be equal to an annual property-tax hike of between 12 per cent and 18 per cent.
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costs → say → 12
His office said he is proposing for the federal government and Canada’s big-city mayors to find ways that will ensure cities aren’t at the losing end of a tariff fight.
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cities → say → fight
The Globe and Mail reached out to more than a dozen municipalities across the country.
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Globe → reach → country
The City of Brampton in Ontario was the only municipality apart from Calgary to outline the tariffs’ estimated impact, pegging its potential capital cost exposure at between $100-million and $150-million.
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City → outline → million
An official for the federal Department of Finance said in an e-mailed statement that municipalities can ask Ottawa for financial relief on tariffed products.
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municipalities → say → products
However, municipalities typically recoup that money through their contractors, who are often responsible for paying the duties in the first place.
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who → recoup → place
John Fragos, a spokesperson for Federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, said that Ottawa is always looking at ways to better support municipalities.
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Ottawa → say → municipalities
Evan Robinson, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli, pointed to a $40-million fund for “trade-impacted communities” to reshore critical supply chains, attract new investment and diversify economies.
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Robinson → point → economies
Hamilton’s incumbent mayoral candidate, Andrea Horwath, said there is a sense of “concern and foreboding” in her Ontario city, which employs about 28,000 people in steel, manufacturing and food processing.
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which → say → steel
“People are really uncertain about the future,” she said in an interview.
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she → say → interview
“There’s no doubt that Hamiltonians feel like we are specifically under attack.”
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we → ’ → attack
Marianne Meed Ward, the incumbent mayoral candidate in Burlington, who chairs Ontario’s big-city mayors’ group, said the tariffs will force cities to defer costs that will only become more expensive in the future.
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that → chair → future
She said 43 per cent of Burlington’s businesses are directly affected by tariffs or countertariffs, representing about half the city’s jobs.
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cent → say → jobs
“It’s quite staggering, and very eye-opening,” she said.
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she → ’ → ?
The trade war has particularly animated Toronto’s mayoral race, where incumbent Olivia Chow and her main challenger, councillor Brad Bradford, are presenting different visions for how they would handle the issue in office.
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they → animate → office
In a statement, Ms. Chow’s campaign defended her response so far, pointing to an economic action plan released in March, 2025, with the goal of diversifying Toronto’s trade and buying local.
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campaign → defend → trade
More than 98 per cent of the city’s spending now goes to Canadian companies, her campaign said.
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campaign → go → companies
She has also launched a grant program for businesses and introduced a new industrial property tax deferral program.
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She → launch → program
Mr. Bradford, meanwhile, suggested the city’s tariff response has been inadequate.
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response → suggest → ?
He has floated numerous proposals, including establishing a permanent tariff-response group, speeding up permit approvals for companies and tax relief.
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He → float → companies
Mr. Bradford said he fully supports Mr. Carney’s efforts in the trade fight but added that cities such as Toronto are absorbing the costs.
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cities → say → costs
“Every month this drags on is more pressure on a municipal budget that’s already stretched thin.
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that → drag → budget
It’s crucial for Ottawa to step up and provide tariff relief so cities aren’t left carrying this cost alone while Washington keeps moving the goalposts,” he said in a statement.
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he → ’ → statement
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
