On Friday, a group of mayors from border towns across Canada issued a plea to higher levels of government, asking for help for their communities as the threat of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump had caused them to see traffic through their towns dwindle.
One of the group was Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who earlier in the week had issued a letter to council members, which asked them to consider removing U.S. flags from municipal facilities.
In his letter, Bradley said that he felt it was highly inappropriate for the American flag to be flying in municipal venues such as local hockey arenas as the U.S. government makes mention of turning Canada into the 51st state.
“While many of us have cross-border friendships and respect for Americans individually, this action cannot be allowed to stand,” the letter read. “I recommend thot all American flags be removed from municipal lands in Sarnia.”
If Sarnia were to make the change, it would follow on the heels of similar moves by Mississauga, Barrie and Essex while other towns and cities have made moves in other areas to provide counter in the trade war.
On March 17, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow introduced a 10-page plan to counter Trump’s tariffs including limiting staff travel to the U.S. as well as limiting American companies from bidding on city contracts.
A number of other cities are looking at similar options including the City of Kitchener, where Mayor Berry Vrbanovic says his city has already made some changes although there are limits.
“We have actually directed staff to amend Kitchener’s procurement bylaw to support buy Canadian, buy local, where we can do it within the legal framework that exists of existing trade agreements that Canada is involved in,” he told Global News.
“As the federal government potentially revisits some of those things, depending on where this goes, then that, you know, may change how far we can go in terms of dealing with some of these things.”
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In Sault Ste. Marie, a spokesperson told Global News city staff are looking into potential changes while council has put in a request to the provincial and federal governments to loosen up some of the rules around procurement.
“Council passed a resolution on February 3, 2025 calling on the Federal and Provincial governments to remove all barriers to municipalities preferring Canadian companies in procurement for capital projects and supplies as well as those that prevent municipalities from preferring Canadian companies for projects and supplies,” they said in an email.
Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, the city of Ottawa says it has always looked to buy Canadian, but recently updated its procurement bylaw in an attempt to support more Canadian and non-American options.
“For example, it now includes an option for obtaining three quotes for purchases up to $125,000, helping us secure the best value while promoting local involvement,” chief procurement officer Joanne Graham said in a statement.
“To further strengthen this commitment, supply services is currently developing guidance for staff to ensure that at least one quote is invited from a local supplier for purchases of this size. This guidance will be rolled out by spring of 2025.”
While a number of other cities are on the same path, Vrbanovic pointed to the ties that bind the two nations as another way that municipalities can have an influence.
The Kitchener mayor has been down to Washington twice over the past few months with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, as well a more recently with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
He noted that while the latter visit was about water quality and environmental issues, the cross-border initiative features politicians from both sides of the border.
“Trade was by far the first and foremost thing that was talked about,” Vrbanovic said. “And we met with members of the Senate as well as Congress, people from both sides of the aisle.”
He said that the politicians south of the border were not providing the same bluster the president was about making Canada the 51st state.
“More importantly, they all, to one degree or another, felt that blanket tariffs are not good for either Canadians or Americans,” he said. “So that’s not to say that none of them had any trade beefs with us.
“Everyone seems to agree that there is a … time and there’s a proper process to sit down as adults and work through those issues together.”
At Friday’s press conference, Bradley said a presentation was made at the White House by those involved in Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
“There’s so many good initiatives going on and many of us were part of a number of them,” the Sarnia mayor said. “But it’s a full court press trying to keep the pressure on the American government and other politicians at other levels.”
Mayors from the Niagara Region were involved in the press conference on Friday, including Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop and Niagara-on-the-Lake Mayor Gary Zalepka.
“I think it will be very fruitful and timely,” Zalepa said. “They’ll send a message to their (senior-level) governments. We’ll be sending messages to our (senior-level) governments.”
Vrbanovic also noted that that chain of dialogue is another important area for local governments to play a part in the tariff dispute as the municipalities have the boots on the ground to connect with area businesses and pass that information up to others.
“It’s really about connecting with businesses, understanding what their issues and concerns are and getting that information to our provincial and federal counterparts to help better inform that have been in the policies and so on,” he explained.
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