While the implementation of punishing U.S. tariffs was not a surprise to the Border Mayors Alliance, much as they hoped to avoid them, the group will continue to push to have Canada’s interests and economy protected while advocating for the border towns who stand to be deeply impacted, including Fort Frances.
Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas has been a local voice for the Alliance, a group made up of the mayors of border towns across Canada who worry U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic attacks against Canada will cause significant harm to their communities, tied as they are to the Canada/U.S. international border. The group prepared a press release following the implementation of the U.S. Government’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods on March 4, 2025, where it said “will not stand idly by” as the tariffs went into effect. The group said it will continue to advocate for its member communities and others in Canada, while simultaneously working to identify alternate supply chains to “bring procurement closer to home” and attempt to stave off the worst effects of the tariffs on Canada’s and their local economies.
The group strongly opposes the tariffs that are now in place against Canadian goods, Hallikas said, adding that they feel Trump has shown Canada and the rest of the world through his constantly shifting words and actions he is “not reliable.”
“His word is constantly changing,” Hallikas said.
“I mean, Donald Trump initially announced he would impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports way back on November 25 but he’s consistently moved the goal posts for avoiding this action. He’s been wishy-washy. He’s gone back and forth on an implementation date, and that’s created chaos and an unprecedented level of uncertainty that’s threatening not only our economy and future investment and growth, but also the American economy.”
Speaking locally, Hallikas said the tariffs are posed to impact the regional economy directly and as a knock-on effect of its impacts on Ontario and Canada’s economy, which he said he finds particularly egregious in light of the U.S. president’s claims of the trade deficit between the two countries.
“He talks about the American trade deficit, and yes, in 2023 the U.S. merchandise trade deficit was $64.3-billion USD, but that’s including energy,” Hallikas said.
“And if you take energy out of the equation, then the U.S. has… about a $27-billion surplus, and that energy that the Americans use that is supposedly putting us over the edge into an American deficit, that energy is Canadian crude oil that goes to American refineries, is refined, creates American jobs, contributes to the American economy, and they get it through past trade agreements at a discounted rate. They need that oil, so to say that using that energy is causing them any problems, of course, is not true.”
The mayor also noted that another talking point for the tariffs, namely the foreign investment deficit, is also something that he said has worked out in the U.S.’ favour.
“The Canada/U.S. trade deficit is balanced by a really important surplus in foreign investment,” he said.
“That surplus that the United States has over Canada in foreign investment, that’s us investing in them and them investing us. They have a $220-billion surplus in investments. Canada’s investment in the U.S. was $672-billion, and the U.S. investment in Canada last year was $452-billion. So by all accounts, they’re doing very, very well with Canada, and so you can see that Canada/U.S. trade makes U.S. industry stronger and more globally competitive.”
Hallikas said he’s very concerned about the effects the tariffs will have on the people of Fort Frances and the Rainy River District, as he feels the full extent of their long-term impacts remain unclear.
“We don’t know yet the true extent of what’s going to happen, but certainly we’re going to find that the cost of food is going to go up,” he said.
“Even something in terms of the town of Fort Frances, the cost that we have in dealing with infrastructure and materials, that’s going to go up, because supply chains are going to be messed up. I really fear for, like every other community, we have people who are less fortunate. We have homeless people in our community. We have people on very tight budgets. We have a lot of seniors in our community, and the cost of living is going to go up, the value of our dollar is likely going to go down, so there is going to be hardship, both in Canada and the United States because of this foolishness by an erratic president.”
However, the mayor said the way to get through these economic struggles is, in part, to come together as a community, both within town and as Canadians, by supporting local and small businesses, travelling within the country, and just doing what people can to support Canadian interests.
“I guess what I would say to all Canadians, and in particular citizens in our community is, you know, be a proud Canadian,” he said.
“Buy Canadian. Let’s do everything we can to support our local economy. Let’s do everything we can to support the provincial economy. Let’s do everything we can to support the Canadian national economy. And in everything that we do, be proud of who you are and what you are as a Canadian, because we do live in one of the best countries in the world… and we need to make sure that we still welcome our friends and neighbours from International Falls when they come over and when tourists come to visit us, they’re here to support us by their presence.”
