The looming threat of tariffs is in full force, as they are expected to come into effect next week.
While there was some uncertainty and mixed messaging from U.S President Donald Trump, the fentanyl-related 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico are set to hit on March 4.
It has border communities such as Estevan, Sask., thinking about their trade and tourism industries and the potential shift that could be coming.
“I think it’s just going to force us all to pivot and change a little bit,” Rebecca Foord, the Estevan community development officer said.
Foord explained how many communities close to the border are coming together to figure out how to keep tourists coming across the border.
“We did a full asset map of all southeast Saskatchewan about what happens (when tariffs are introduced),” Foord explained. “What do we have for tourism, what do we have for events and everything. We’ve got all of these people in the same room and we’re actually really able to dish out what we have in the surrounding area in southeast Saskatchewan.
“I like having that list is allowing us to be proactive in how we support our tourists and how we support tourism and local businesses.”
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
And while they continue to plan for American tourists and business, the shift has also shifted to trying to attract people from other provinces.
It’s something Estevan Chamber of Commerce executive director Merissa Scarlett fully supports.
“There is opportunities to explore beyond the United States,” she said. “Estevan is a hub. We have major railways come through here and we’re highway-connected so maybe we’re shipping our goods to the coast and getting it out that way and even down to Mexico.”
She is interested to see how tariffs impact people coming north to buy goods.
“With the dollar being so low, you will see plates from even North Dakota jumping over to go to Walmart or go to some of our local stores… I am curious to see if we’re going to see a drop.”
She said many local businesses are seeing a slowdown in customers and there are concerns in the community of possible layoffs in the oil, gas and manufacturing companies in Estevan.
But while there are nerves from Scarlett, she said it is hard to know what the tariff impacts may turn out to be.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
