Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce executive director Amanda Conn expects “all industries will be significantly impacted” by sweeping tariffs between Canada and the U.S., though many County entrepreneurs are seeing this as an opportunity to diversify their operations.

The Canadian government implemented a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of goods imported from the U.S. March 4, in response to U.S. president Donald Trump’s repeated threats to target Canadian-made products.

A 25 per cent U.S. tariff was to come into effect Feb. 4, then pushed to March 4, and now to April 2, with Trump continuing to tout the measures as a way to drive more manufacturing to the States.

Ontario premier Doug Ford applied a 25 per cent surcharge on Canadian electricity sold to the U.S. March 10, and introduced legislation preventing American companies from bidding for government contracts – with Trump threatening retaliatory sanctions on steel and aluminum products. Both sides have paused sanctions for now, though Conn said the trade war is causing angst in the County.

“There is a lot of concern over what this will do to prices – the tariffs will hurt our economy, the trouble now is, with all the changes, it’s very difficult for our businesses to plan for next steps. Nobody really knows any more what’s going to happen, or when,” Conn told The Highlander.

Brandon Nimigon, chair of the Haliburton BIA, said he hasn’t heard many issues from small retailers in the downtown core, saying the impact is more likely to be felt by large-scale manufacturers.

‘Time to show local pride’

Locally, he thinks this will also lead to a prolonged cool off in the construction industry, which he said has been struggling for the past six-to-eight months.

“With all this noise on lumber, steel, aluminum and other products… builders are concerned because, with those costs rising, that always translates to less people wanting to build things.

“Then it’s the trickle-down effect – construction is a big industry in the County. If there’s not a lot of new money coming into our local economy there, that slows down everything in every market,” Nimigon said.

Opportunities elsewhere

Malcolm Cockwell, managing director at Haliburton Forest, said historically between 30 and 50 per cent of company products made in the County are shipped to the U.S.

“Last week in particular was very hectic, fielding calls from customers non-stop while things were basically changing hour-by-hour… this is something that is going to impact our business, but not in the way I think Mr. Trump intends.

“As a supplier, there’s not really a whole lot to do. Tariffs are paid by the importer, so when we sell lumber to an American customer, and there’s a big tariff on it, we don’t pay that. The U.S. customer pays it,” Cockwell said. “The most we can do is to try to expand our customer base.”

He said about 10 per cent of the Forest’s exports are international, which Cockwell expects to ramp up significantly in coming months. He’s targeting more sales in Europe and Asia.

Matthew Roberts, operations manager at Heat-Line, a niche business located in Algonquin Highlands that specializes in developing and manufacturing advanced heating cables and water pipe freeze protection for residential and commercial markets, tells a similar story.

Roberts said about 32 per cent of the company’s sales in 2024 were to U.S. customers, who would all be impacted by a blanket 25 per cent tariff. The company would also be hit on the other end, with approximately 40 per cent of the raw materials used to develop products sourced from the States.

The kicker, he said, is that there’s no domestic alternative to the technology they ship, meaning the company has no option but to absorb those costs. He expects that will eventually lead to an approximate 15 per cent increase to Heat-Line’s pricing.

“We’re now in a situation where a local business that was strong, flourishing and looking to grow is taking a huge hit to its bottom line,” Roberts said.

“Ultimately, nobody benefits from a trade war. Businesses just have to adapt as best they can,” Cockwell added.

Food, drinks impacted

Mathew Renda, owner of Boshkung Brewing Co., said he’s already starting to see the effects of the tariffs.

“We’re seeing the cost of our cans go up roughly 10 cents per can, which is pretty substantial,” he said, noting Boshkung imports all of its aluminum from the U.S. While most of the grain used in their beers are Canadian, more than half of the hops in their recipes are imported from Washington state.

“We’re kind of getting hit on all sides … obviously on the food side too, we’re already seeing some of our ingredients we purchase increase in price. That’s going to hit everyone,” Renda said.

He’s holding off increasing prices for now, hoping the trade standoff will soon come to an amicable end.

Trevor Chaulk, who runs a cabinet manufacturing shop in Minden, is in the same boat. While his business hasn’t been impacted – with about 90 per cent of their materials sourced in Canada and 95 to 98 per cent of clients based in Ontario – he’s worried about the long-term economic impacts of a trade war.

“We have a lot of large manufacturers that export to the U.S. If these tariffs come into play, those companies are going to be losing lots of potential sales. The Canadian market will be flooded with lower pricing, creating pricing wars here, which will in turn increase overseas imports, so it’s more important than ever to buy local.

“If these larger manufacturers start reducing costs just to keep products moving along, it’s going to put a lot of small manufacturing companies out of business,” Chaulk said.

Time to rally

Cockwell said this is also an opportunity for Canadian businesses to explore more domestic options for manufacturing and sales. He said the Forest is also “100 per cent supportive” of greater inter-provincial trade.

Barriers to certain products exist in most regions due to varying provincial regulations on things such as health and safety, product labelling, alcohol sales, and professional licensing.

“If this leads to the overall advancement and integration of the Canadian economy, leading to improved trade between provinces and territories, that would be a win. It wouldn’t be a game-changer, but certainly a positive step in the right direction,” he said. “Frankly, it’s something that should have been done as a nation 20 years ago.”

Cockwell said he’s also anticipating the stand-off with the U.S. to result in Canadians taking fewer vacations south of the border, creating opportunities for improved tourism to the Highlands.

Conn said, with some County businesses only just getting back on their feet following the pandemic, it’s more important than ever that Highlanders shop local.

“Shopping local is a grander message within Canada and one we want to echo as much as possible. We are continuing to look for ways to promote and identify Canadian-made goods. Now is the time to show that local pride on a regional, provincial and national level,” Conn said. “It’s important as Canadians to send a message we do support our own, especially when threatened.”

The YWCA Peterborough Haliburton has put out a call for applications for the 2025 Hazel Education bursary.

Now in its 28th year, the annual fund is available to women who have experienced gender-based violence, helping them to reach their goals through education or training, says local YWCA executive director Kim Dolan.

Applicants are eligible for between $1,500 and $2,500, Dolan said. The award is named in honour of Hazel (no last name provided), an advisor and volunteer for community services in the region, who passed away in 1996 after a long battle with breast cancer.

“Hazel was a remarkable woman who Hazel’s request. Dolan said, for years, Hazel endured a difficult home life. lived in a rural community north of Peterborough. She had a dream of finding a way to help women overcome barriers related to violence and abuse to support them to pursue their dreams.

“Hazel believed that everyone deserved a chance and that chances should be made possible,” Dolan said.

Applications are due by May 1, and are open to any female survivor of domestic violence and abuse who has “a dream to strengthen their economic security,” are a resident of Peterborough or Haliburton County, and seek to further their formal or informal education, or develop skills.

Women from rural areas will be given special consideration for the award, per Hazel’s request.

Dolan said, for years, Hazel endured a difficult home life.

“She overcame obstacles that stood in the way of success. This carried her back into the world she left; only now she was helping other women to address familyoriented barriers, such as domestic violence, child health, subsidized housing, poverty, rural isolation, and access to training and education,” Dolan said. “She befriended all those she touched.”

Hazel’s daughter, speaking anonymously, said her mother was a pillar of strength for many in the community, noting that through the bursary her enduring spirit lives on and continues to help struggling women long after her death.

“Perhaps you have overcome some barriers already. Now you are being given a chance to take another step towards your goal. Not only are you making a place for women through your actions, but you are also carrying her spirit with you,” she said.

Dolan said past recipients have, “become community advocates and workers in non-profit organizations, social workers, creators of art, small business owners, and community leaders.”

For more information, visit ywcapeterborough.org/get-help/education, or contact Emily Jensen at 705-743-3526 ext. 120, or ejensen@ywcapeterborough. org.

Algonquin Highlands mayor Liz Danielsen has described her council’s 2025 budget deliberations as a belttightening affair, with the township limiting its tax rate increase to 4.26 per cent – the lowest in Haliburton County.

That will see residential ratepayers cough up an additional $15.98 per $100,000 of their home’s assessed value, with the commercial hike at $23.70 per $100,000, and industrial $27.64 per $100,000.

Discussions stretched across two full days Feb. 27 and 28, with council tentatively approving costs of $19.3 million for the year on March 6. Taxpayers will cover just under $7.1 million of that – a 5.62 per cent ($376,250) increase from last year, with $12.2 million coming from provincial and federal transfer payments and municipal revenues.

“We’re well ahead of anybody else, which is good… I think council and staff did a really good job landing on something that is as reasonable as we can possibly make it given the times we’re living in, the projects we have coming up, and what our priorities need to be,” Danielsen said.

Council shaved about 1.4 per cent off the tax rate increase by eliminating $94,650 from the first draft of the budget, reducing the amount set aside for a parking master plan for the township including municipal docks and landings, limiting contributions to trails reserves, scrapping plans to add a stationary truck service to its existing waste services, and building new pickleball courts in Stanhope, Dorset and Oxtongue.

The transportation department accounts for the largest slice of the municipal pie, with anticipated costs of $8.4 million (43.73 per cent). Next is parks and recreation at $3.4 million (17.53 per cent), emergency services $3 million (15.5 per cent), and general governance $2.1 million (11 per cent).

Costs at Stanhope Municipal Airport are projected at $699,000 (3.62 per cent), with planning and development expenses $338,000 (1.75 per cent), and health expenditures $20,265 (0.1 per cent).

Municipal reserves are down approximately $490,000 – a six per cent decrease. Treasurer Jean Hughes said the township is adding $1.875 million to its various reserve funds, but drawing $2.364 million. Danielsen said she had to be “uncomfortably comfortable” with that.

“I get really nervous about reducing them too much – but considering we started out with an 11 per cent reduction at first draft, I think we did well,” she said. “Costs to run a municipality have increased dramatically over the past five, six, seven years… it seems to me like there needs to be a better balance [with the province] over who is responsible for what.

“Some of the things that have been downloaded to us for healthcare, housing, and other social services… it adds up. And when you consider the increased costs to maintain and replace infrastructure, for things like policing – stuff we have absolutely no control over – it’s getting harder to toe the line.”

Danielsen believes Algonquin Highlands has “a pretty low [tax] levy compared to a lot of other municipalities in Ontario.”

Where money going

Danielsen said council approved a four per cent increase to staff wages in 2025, up from an initial two per cent, which along with some additional hires added $274,000 to the budget. She said that was done to ensure non-unionized workers got the same raise as those in unionized positions.

Just over $2.3 million will be spent on roads, through the redesign and repair of a 2.2-kilometre portion of North Shore Road and surface treatments on Braelock, Airport, Green Lake, and Heron Landing roads as well as Havey Avenue East.

Danielsen said she expects work to wrap on the new $4.4 million public works garage in Stanhope this year, which she described as a “really, really big project.”

Around $525,000 will be invested into the Dorset Recreation Centre for HVAC upgrades, a new digital sign and electronic vehicle charging station; the Dorset Tower will receive $225,000 in upgrades to enhance lightning strike protection; $150,000 has been budgeted for firefighter hall repairs, training group enhancements, and more specialized firefighting equipment; with $110,000 earmarked for the airport for runway lighting upgrades, installation of new gates and fencing, tree clearing, and hangar repairs. T

he township’s four landfill sites – Maple Lake, Pine Springs, Oxtongue Lake and Dorset – will see $100,000 for trench development, bin replacement, scale software implementation and site improvements.

A new $50,000 vehicle has been approved for the bylaw department for monitoring and inspections related to the new short-term rental program.