‘A lot of uncertainty’ for Nova Scotia fishers amid trade war with U.S.

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill and Mark Hodgins

Industries across Canada and specifically in Nova Scotia are anxiously awaiting if the threats by United States President Donald Trump will come to fruition.

Over the weekend the threats materialized with Trump saying 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy will start Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau retaliated with Canada’s own set of tariffs against our southern neighbour including $30 billion in goods originating in the U.S., hitting hundreds of items, from meat and milk to carpets and curtains. Another $125 billion in tariffs on goods could come in three weeks.

All this tension has culminated in many people in the country and in Nova Scotia watching and waiting to see if the two sides can come to a deal.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” Kris Vascotto, executive director of Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance told CityNews in an interview on Monday afternoon. “We’re hopeful we’ll get some clarity as to whether an exemption will be provided.”

Related:

• Nova Scotia reveals plan to react to U.S. tariffs
• A short list of U.S. goods which will be charged 25 per cent tariffs starting Tuesday
• Atlantic Canadians becoming patriotic purchasers says new poll

Earlier today, Trudeau’s office said he spoke with Trump, with the pair planning another call sometime this afternoon.

Vascotto and the rest of the fishers and industries attached are anxiously waiting to hear if further details will come of the calls. He noted that if fisheries aren’t exempt from the tariffs the impacts to the provincial industry are “broad-reaching.”

“We ship between 40 and 45 per cent of $2.5 billion in wild fish and seafood exported out of Nova Scotia annually to our trade partners south of the border,” Vascotto said. “So, basically, that trade flow is now going to have a surcharge attached to it and we’ll have to determine whether customers are going to continue being willing to pay for that surcharge.”

What that could look like in the short term could be disruptions with products, but he’s uncertain if that could translate into job losses or suspensions.

“So it’s just a matter unfortunately of a little bit of patience,” Vascotto said.

In terms of asking the federal and provincial governments to step in, the executive director said it’s too early to know what the industries need but on Monday he and the governments did have “additional calls.”

He noted that the industries might need to find other customers around the world in order to keep up business. Despite the U.S. making up roughly half of the trade, Vascotto said, the other half is full of diverse countries around the world, so increasing trade deals with them is the natural next step.

Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries sounding alarms

Some provinces may not be as fortunate as Nova Scotia. According to The Canadian Press about 96 per cent of crab caught each year in Newfoundland and Labrador is sent to the U.S., worth $761 million in 2022 — about half of the province’s $1.4 billion fishing sector.

The potential closure of the snow crab fishery would devastate rural Newfoundland and Labrador, where fishers are the economic heart of communities, Dwan Street, president of the union representing inshore fishers and fish plant workers, said.

“The fishery is the lifeblood of rural Newfoundland and Labrador,” she said. “There are also adjacent industries…The effects trickle down. It’s not just jobs at risk, it’s coastal communities at risk.”