FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2025
Vancouver, British Columbia – The Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC) is raising the alarm over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent round of damaging proposals to impose 35% tariffs on most Canadian imports beginning August 1. These aggressive and punitive measures represent not only a direct assault on Canadian industry and workers, but a threat to our nation’s sovereignty and economic stability.
This isn’t trade policy. It’s economic chaos. And it demands a swift and unyielding response from Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government.
The PPWC has been the country’s leading democratic, independent union for workers in western Canada. National president Geoff Dawe minced no words in his condemnation of Trump’s latest attack on Canadian jobs and sovereignty.
“Here we go again. Donald Trump is waging economic warfare on Canadian workers,” Dawe said. “These tariffs aren’t about trade deficits or national security. They’re about fear, manipulation, and domination. He’s targeting Canadian working families, and we need a Prime Minister who will fight back.”
Canadian workers—who have spent decades building this country’s prosperity through honest, hard work—are now being treated as collateral damage in Trump’s campaign of political self-promotion. From steelworkers in Hamilton to forestry crews in British Columbia, from auto parts assemblers in Windsor to farmers in rural Quebec, thousands of working families stand to suffer if these tariffs to go unchallenged.
“PPWC is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to defend working people with action. That means a strong and proportionate retaliation on politically sensitive U.S. exports,” says First Vice President Chuck LeBlanc. “It means emergency supports for workers and communities already experiencing economic anxiety. And it means rethinking our economic dependence on a country that treats us like a bargaining chip instead of a partner.”
Trump’s proposed tariffs are not isolated policy decisions. They are part of a broader effort to reassert U.S. dominance and humiliate its closest allies. Just months ago, Trump floated the absurd idea of Canada joining the U.S. as a 51st state. Now, he wants to cripple our economy to force political compliance. These are not the actions of a friendly neighbor. These are the tactics of a bully. And we’ve seen what happens when bullies go unchecked.
These unjust trade measures will also target one of Canada’s most vital export industries, softwood lumber, which employs tens of thousands of skilled workers in logging, sawmills, transportation, and forestry management. The result could be mill closures, layoffs, and the erosion of middle-class livelihoods, particularly in rural and northern areas in British Columbia that depend heavily on forestry.
“This is not a time for indecision,” Dawe said. “Trump has declared war on Canadian workers, and if Carney doesn’t punch back hard, we’re going to lose factories, our dignity and entire communities. This is bigger than trade—it’s about whether Canada stands on its feet or kneels to Washington.”
The PPWC is witnessing a growing frustration from its members across the country. Mill towns are already on edge from previous softwood lumber disputes. Manufacturing plants that were just beginning to recover from the COVID-era disruptions are now facing a new uncertainty. The idea that our economy can absorb a 35% tariff shock without devastating consequences is a fantasy.
The PPWC is demanding that Canada take immediate and concrete steps to defend its working families. First, create an emergency economic buffer fund for industries most affected by American trade aggression. Second, launch a national campaign to expand trade relationships outside the United States and break our overreliance on a single market that clearly no longer respects us.
First Vice President LeBlanc added, “Prime Minister Carney faces a defining moment. He says he wants the best deal for Canadians, and the PPWC and its members will not sit quietly while livelihoods are sacrificed and national dignity is traded away. It’s going to take both courage and cooperation to defend the Canadian economy.”
“Canadian jobs should never be dependent on the whims of a reality TV populist in a foreign country,” says Dawe. “The PPWC stands with Canadian workers, communities, and unions willing to fight back against this injustice and chaos. And by working together, we will win.”
Media contact:
Geoff Dawe
President, Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC)
250-526-2911
nationalpresident@ppwc.ca
ppwc.ca
