In the midst of myriad unknowns accompanying the nagging threat of U.S. tariffs, Greater Sudbury city council members are striving to shield the city from its potential impacts.
During Tuesday’s city council meeting, two motions were tabled by city council members to mitigate tariffs, including one that fell flat and another which received unanimous support.
The successful motion, by Mayor Paul Lefebvre, will see the city call on the federal and provincial governments to allow municipalities greater leeway in their ability to prioritize the purchase of products, supplies and materials from countries other than the United States.
Buying local is a challenge for municipalities, Lefebvre told local journalists following Tuesday’s meeting.
Trade arrangements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union can prohibit nation-first purchasing practices and those which freeze out the United States.
“Even though we have a partner who is not respecting our international trade agreements, or is proposing not to respect them, we still feel we need to respect them,” Lefebvre said.
That clarified, Lefebvre added that if the United States is going their own way, “we’ve got to make sure we’re covering ourselves.”
Despite this, Lefebvre clarified, “We don’t buy a lot of American stuff as a city.”
It’s unavoidable with certain things, such as specialized electronics and HVAC materials which only come from the United States, meaning any impact from retaliatory Canadian tariffs would have to be absorbed due to a lack of Canadian options.
Excluding United States companies altogether would be a problem, he said, cautioning, “It’s a slippery slope because there are a lot of American-owned companies that operate in Canada as subsidiaries that employ a lot of people."
Also during Tuesday’s city council meeting, Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc tabled a motion which would have asked the city to pause work on the downtown arena/events centre until such time as the full impact of U.S. tariffs are known.
Although his motion found a seconder with Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann, it lacked support from any other members of city council and landed far short of the two-thirds majority vote the motion required.
(Since city council already voted to proceed with the arena project, it was considered a reconsideration of past direction, and reconsiderations require two-thirds majority votes to be tabled.)
Pre-empting Leduc’s motion, Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti asked city Growth and Infrastructure general manager Tony Cecutti to lend some context to the potential for rising costs.
"There's nothing that’s happening around the world that’s affecting what we’re doing on the project today,” Cecutti said.
“Will it potentially impact at some time in the future? Potentially, and you often have to wait until you’re at that stage to see what’s happening in the world at that particular time.”
In times of economic uncertainty, governments want projects to go ahead, he said, suggesting there may be some funding opportunities on the horizon in the event U.S. tariffs proceed.
In times like these, he said, “private investors maybe aren’t comfortable with the risk. That’s when it’s important for governments to invest. The worst thing you can do is not be ready. The best thing you can do is be shovel ready, so the best thing we can do is accelerate our design process.”
After Leduc pressed Cucutti to reassure Greater Sudburians that tariffs won’t impact the project (“I don’t think I could predict the future,” Cecutti responded), Signoretti criticized Leduc for “trying to poke holes” in the project.
“What gives you the right to say that you have the certainty and the crystal ball and foresight?” Signoretti asked. “Are you an economist? Do you know what’s going to happen a year from now? Two years from now? I don’t think so.”
Following the meeting, Lefebvre told local journalists that the council-approved budget for the arena/events centre is still $200 million, and that the scope of the project has not changed. (Although the city uses $200 million to describe the events centre’s cost, this amount excludes money spent on the purchase and demolition of downtown properties, nor does it include the $4.38-million spent on the since-cancelled Kingsway Entertainment District. With these accounted for, the project’s budget is actually $225 million.)
Any significant changes to the budget or project scope would go to city council for a fresh vote.
Ground work is expected to take place this year, followed by foundation work in 2026 and the structure’s erection in 2027.
“That’s steel, so we’re looking at resourcing it in Canada as best we can,” Lefebvre said, adding that the project’s price tends to go up with every delay it has faced during the past several years.
“We need to be ready with the project so that we can move forward,” he said. “The more we wait the more there’s going to be an increase on this project, no matter what.”
Although Lefebvre’s motion advocating that senior levels of government help municipalities better navigate the U.S. tariff threat passed during Tuesday’s meeting, the mayor said it would be an ongoing discussion around council chambers.
“It’s a work in progress in the sense that it's a very fluid situation,” he said, pledging to join other municipalities and organizations including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in helping mitigate potential tariff impacts.
The full text of Lefebvre’s successful motion is as follows:
Whereas Canada has been a consistent ally, friend and neighbour of the United States; and
Whereas the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement was signed only a few years ago between our countries, to ensure free trade in many of our highly integrated supply and manufacturing chains; and
Whereas the United States government, contrary to that trade agreement continues to threaten significant tariffs against Canadian products sold to the United States; and
Whereas these unjust, unfair and illegal tariffs will cause economic disruption to manufacturers and businesses and their employees in Greater Sudbury and across Canada;
Now therefore be it resolved that City of Greater Sudbury calls on the federal and provincial governments to establish policies to guide the acquisition of products, supplies and materials from suppliers in the United States; and
That that staff continue to investigate alternative products, supplies and materials to current municipal purchasing from United States suppliers and take the necessary steps to develop a structured framework that enables the prioritization of products, supplies and materials from countries other than the United States; and
That, in the event punitive tariffs are imposed on Canadian companies selling products to the United States, the provincial and federal governments consider stimulus funding to assist Canadian companies impacted by the tariffs; and
That this motion be forwarded to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, MPs and MPPs for Nickel Belt and Sudbury, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.