Article content
The cost of the Coutts blockade is starting to add up for the Alberta economy as the illegal protest hits five days.
The cost of the Coutts blockade is starting to add up for the Alberta economy as the illegal protest hits five days.
David MacLean, the vice-president of the Alberta and Saskatchewan division of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said between 800 and 1,200 trucks cross at the Coutts-Sweetgrass entry every day.
“We know the impact is huge,” he said. “(There is) $15.9 billion in two-way trade a year at that single crossing, that’s $44 million per day. Roughly speaking, we export by the Coutts border crossing almost as much as we import.”
Coutts is Alberta’s only 24-hour, seven-day-a-week crossing and the only one set up to handle much of the type of traffic that is now bottlenecked.
The blockade started to loosen Wednesday with a single lane of traffic open each way, as RCMP negotiations with protesters continue. MacLean said that even if the blockade ended immediately, it would likely take a week or two to clear the backlog.
He said all industries have been affected by the blockade, which has worsened a “supply chain crisis” created by a trucker shortage, two years of pandemic and major weather events such as the B.C. floods and winter storms.
“It’s like an ongoing, slow-motion train wreck there,” said MacLean.
“I have members who were expecting delivery of critical inputs who have trucks either parked on the U.S. side of the border or diverting through North Dakota through Saskatchewan, which of course costs time and money. We have essential equipment that is vital for oil and gas and manufacturing and every sector stalled south of the border.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers said rural communities are most affected, as they often rely on a single supplier.
Gary Sands, the senior vice-president for the CFIG, said the overall shortage at member stores is about 25 per cent, but in rural communities it was between 30 and 35 per cent before the blockades.
“With all of the things we are facing right now, we feel we should be having food convoys, not so-called freedom convoys,” said Sands.
He noted the independent grocers operate on slim 1.5- to two-per-cent margins, and increases in the cost of shipping will invariably be passed on to consumers.
On Monday, the Canadian Meat Council tweeted about 150 loads of Canadian beef stuck at the border and the effects it could have on producers. On Wednesday, an emailed statement said they were encouraged by the progress in negotiations.
“Hopefully this means that the backup will soon be cleared and commerce can continue,” said Marie-France MacKinnon, vice-president of public affairs for CMC.
The NDP called on the provincial government to provide emergency supports for those affected by the blockade.
Rural Economic Development and Agriculture critic Heather Sweet and Transportation critic Lorne Dach said the province should set up a program to cover uninsured costs.
“We are at a point where we are at Day 5 of a border crossing basically being held hostage, and what that means is it’s holding our economy hostage,” Sweet said.
“We’ve seen steel sitting at the border, we’ve seen agriculture products sitting at the border, forestry products are sitting at the border, tech products are sitting at the border, every single industry in Alberta that relies on our international trade with the United States has come to a stop.”
Provincial representatives did not return requests for comment.
Twitter: @JoshAldrich
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.
The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.
Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.
In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Alberta forestry minister says wolverine, lynx trapping limits lifted to gather data
Court order will compel release of records in Dye & Durham competition probe
Quebec man’s acquittal in 1978 double murder ‘historic and exceptional,’ lawyer says
Health minister wants all Quebecers to have access to a health professional by 2026
Expert says silence in B.C. port lockout unusual while retailers call for urgency
Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high
NDP calls on federal government to allow open work permits for temporary workers
NDP asks Speaker to examine social media influencer Lauren Chen’s refusal to testify