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By Curtis Galbraith
Economy

Chamber Chair on U.S. tariffs, new provincial budget

Mar 4, 2025 | 6:00 AM

The Chair of the Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce says it is difficult to say what the impact of tariffs from the United States will be.

Jon Anderson says he respects the province preparing for tariffs in the new budget.

“The message from chambers like ours is very quickly to what we can control is what we do to diversify our customer base, to improve our trade across Canada, to sharpen our pencils, so to speak, to make sure we are running our businesses carefully and managing the risk.”

Anderson spoke to us on Friday February 28, before the tariffs were officially put in place. He said at that time, it is difficult to give a clear message.

He did agree a lot of local businesses sell locally, but not to underestimate how many do deal with the U.S., especially in the energy sector.

“We have very close ties to work that’s done in the States, whether we’re supporting larger corporations or simply doing work on both sides of the border, there’s an impact.”

Anderson says it looks like energy, agriculture, and forestry, the three biggest sectors of our local economy, will be the most impacted by these tariffs.

Anderson calls the new provincial budget a mixed bag, adding he is glad the government was open about the uncertainty we are facing, something he calls “very practical.”

“When we dig in a little bit behind things, I think there’s still good news to be found for our region. There’s still a committment to Northwestern Polytechnic, the Beaverlodge Health Centre, the twinning of Highway 40.”

“Those things are still important to us and it sounds like, looks like, there’s still some commitment to that.”

Anderson says many local businesses would welcome expansion to skilled trades instruction at Northwestern Polytechnic.

by Curtis Galbraith