Trade minister says officials are ‘very close’ to finalizing Canada-U.S. trade deal

Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., mayor ‘worried’ if Canadian steel gets hit with 25 per cent tariff

Matthew Shoemaker, the mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., says it’s important to see what the exact terms of the agreement will be.

“But I can tell you that hypothetically if there was a reduction from 50 to 25 per cent [tariffs on Canadian steel], that wouldn’t be something to celebrate,” Shoemaker told CBC News, adding that he “certainly wouldn’t see it as a victory.”

In December, Algoma Steel — the largest employer in Sault Ste. Marie — announced 1,000 layoffs, partially as a result of the Trump administration’s tariffs.

Shoemaker said there needs to be “a meaningful reduction” in tariffs.

“To bring it down from 50 per cent to 25 per cent may seem like you’ve cut the tariffs in half, but you’re only really bringing them back to where they were during the last Trump term [and] where they were at the beginning of this Trump term,” the mayor said.

“[Residents are] waiting with bated breath in the community for relief for the steel industry,” he said.

“The message has been, from our perspective … that we need a deal. And the prime minister and others have said that they would ensure that a deal benefited Canada, so I am worried with the news that’s coming out that we are not seeing a deal that will benefit our community at the very least.”

—With files from Alex Flood