Dear Sisters, Brothers and Friends:
By now, you have seen the news that Donald Trump may levy a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada starting as early as March 5, and Canada will be forced to respond with tariffs of our own. The reason for these punishing tariffs changes by the day and the hour. But the impacts of Donald Trump’s trade war, however, are already well-understood: Canada could face a recession and significant job losses in multiple industries in every region of the country.
There is no sugarcoating the severity of the moment we are in. Our dollar will weaken and inflation could creep back up. Tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people could lose their jobs. Entire industries could collapse. A trade war, like all wars, hurts ordinary working people the most. In the middle of the existing cost-of-living crisis, the people who are already struggling to keep the lights on and food on the table will be hit the hardest.
Those who work in manufacturing, natural resources, construction, fisheries and other predominantly private sectors of the economy would be immediately impacted. But so too will workers in the public sector. As Canada’s largest and strongest Labour union, CUPE will stand alongside other workers across Canada – our friends and neighbors – as part of the broader Labour movement to fight back and defend our jobs and our public services.
This is a wake-up call for Canada. Donald Trump is making direct threats against Canada’s sovereignty, signaling his desire to take Canada over. He is threatening a war of aggression against Canadian jobs and livelihoods. We must do everything in our power in the short-term and the long-term to defend Canada and Canadian jobs, and make our economy more resilient. In this moment, we must advance progressive solutions to the crisis at hand, invest in the social safety net that keeps communities afloat in times good and bad, and foster greater economic independence from the United States by creating more capacity to produce our own goods.
In the middle of all this, we must also remain vigilant against domestic threats to our jobs and public services as well. Conservative politicians like Pierre Poilievre never pass up the chance to turn a crisis into an opportunity to cut services, heap more tax cuts on their rich friends, and make life even harder and more expensive for working people.
We have not forgotten that Pierre Poilievre opposed programs like CERB that were the only thing keeping millions of workers and families from falling into poverty during the pandemic. We can expect that Pierre Poilievre and other right-wing politicians will similarly oppose support for workers impacted by Trump’s tariffs while also cheerleading more corporate tax cuts for the wealthy.
We’re calling on our members to join us in putting pressure on the federal government to support workers and families impacted by the Trump trade war. We need concrete action to bolster income supports for workers who lose their jobs, and we need significant investments in training and re-training through Employment Insurance programs. Workers in Canada need and deserve the support of our government through this crisis and beyond.
CUPE is also a proud signatory of the Pledge for Canada, a commitment to affirm and defend Canada’s sovereignty. Members can learn more and sign on at engagement-canada-pledge.ca
In Solidarity,
Mark Hancock CUPE National President
Candace Rennick CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer
