More U.S. Tariffs Put Canadian Businesses in Crosshairs

Sep 9, 2026

Within hours of Canada’s counter-tariffs coming into effect, the Trump administration responded by announcing 50 per cent duties on additional Canadian products.

Starting Sept. 15, Canadian mattresses will face a 50 per cent import levy, adding a significant cost for manufacturers selling into the U.S. market. Other Canadian home furnishings products subject to the 50 per cent duties include lighting and upholstered leather, wood, metal, bamboo, rattan and cane furniture, among other items.

The new tariffs total less than $1 billion in trade value, representing about 0.6 per cent of U.S. imports from Canada. They come on top of a ban on certain Canadian imports, effective Sept. 29, that covers most alcoholic drinks, some dairy products and motorcycles. The measures follow U.S. tariffs introduced after trade talks between the two countries broke down in August.

New estimates from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) find that more than 53,000 businesses are directly impacted by either U.S. tariffs, Canadian counter-tariffs or both.

Of that total, one-quarter are exporters, while 75 per cent are importers, suggesting that Canadian counter-tariffs will affect a significantly larger share of businesses than U.S. tariffs.

CFIB is lobbying the federal government to implement a dedicated small business tariff relief program that would provide initial tariff relief of up to $70,000 to impacted exporters and importers. Businesses would need to provide evidence that they paid the tariffs directly or adjusted their prices to absorb some or all of the tariffs.

CFIB is also calling for a small and medium-sized enterprise desk for tariff remissions to speed up decisions on eliminating Canadian retaliatory tariffs when there are major negative impacts on an industry or when alternatives to U.S. products are not readily available.

In addition, CFIB is seeking a reduction in the small business corporate tax rate cut to six per cent from nine per cent, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026. The organization is also calling for an increase in the small business deduction threshold to $700,000 from $500,000, with future indexation to inflation.