Ontario and the City of Hamilton have launched a joint “tariff response team” intended to help local businesses and workers cope with the ongoing trade dispute with the United States, as more than 500 workers at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Stelco operations face layoffs.
The initiative, announced Tuesday at Hamilton city hall, comes amid growing concern over the future of the city’s manufacturing sector following tariffs imposed under U.S. President Donald Trump. Ontario is contributing more than $390,000 toward the $588,000 cost of the team, which is expected to be fully operational before the end of the year.
The team’s mandate is to help tariff-affected businesses navigate government support programs, diversify their supply chains and explore new markets. Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said Ontario has assembled close to $30 billion in tariff-related support measures, but acknowledged that sorting through the available funding can be difficult, particularly for smaller businesses without dedicated resources.
“There’s a wide, wide, wide menu of funds that are available … This (team) will cut through all of that for you,” Fedeli said at the news conference, adding that businesses needing quick answers would be directed to the right resources.
How the Team Will Operate
The response team will work through two streams. One will connect businesses directly with existing provincial and federal support programs. The other will gather economic data and analysis from local organizations to identify challenges facing the city and help inform responses in trade discussions.
Mayor Andrea Horwath described the first stream as functioning “like scissors… that will cut the red tape to connect businesses to programs that already exist,” noting that many small businesses lack the capacity to research which programs suit them best.
Horwath said the team will bring together local partners including chambers of commerce, the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority and the airport to build a clearer picture of the local economy’s needs. She added that the initiative will also help connect laid-off workers with support services, including retraining programs.
Layoffs at Stelco
The launch comes as Stelco’s Hamilton facilities are expected to idle operations, leading to roughly 350 local steelworkers losing their jobs by next week, along with additional layoffs at the company’s Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke. As of Monday, more than 100 Hamilton workers had already received layoff notices.
Horwath criticized Stelco’s parent company, Cleveland-Cliffs, after it highlighted the steelmaker’s strongest quarterly performance in two years during an earnings call with shareholders held the same week. “It’s a slap in the face to Hamilton workers, Hamilton history and Hamilton families,” Horwath said, adding that she would continue fighting to protect the jobs.
Asked what the province is doing to protect and create jobs, Fedeli said Ontario is working directly with manufacturers to strengthen domestic supply chains. He cited a $300-million program at Tenaris in Sault Ste. Marie to manufacture steel drill pipe in Ontario for use in Western Canada, which received provincial funding.
Horwath said the tariff response team has already been assembled and is in the process of being implemented. She noted that additional staffing resources will be needed within the city’s economic development department, but that the initiative is not expected to require additional money from municipal reserves.
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