Ottawa’s Ideal Roofing braces for Trump’s steel tariffs

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A family-owned Ottawa steel company that has spent six decades nurturing business in the United States is fearful of its economic future if President Donald Trump goes ahead with a 25-per-cent tariff on steel products sold in the U.S. 

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“It’s a very big worry,” said Philippe Laplante, vice-president of sales and marketing for Ideal Roofing, the company that his great-grandfather and great-great-uncle founded 96 years ago and that is now co-owned by the third and fourth generations: Phil and his father, Claude, who’s CEO.

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“We’ve been selling into the U.S. for over 60 years, and all that hard work done to convince customers to buy Canadian could be all pretty much scrapped. So it’s very worrisome and there are definitely a lot of uncertainties,” the younger Laplante said in an interview.

It’s not the first time a Trump administration has tried to push back Canada’s steel industry. During Trump’s first term in the White House, tariffs were imposed on steel and aluminum, but they didn’t last long, Laplante recalled, and were mainly aimed at preventing a glut of Chinese steel from being dumped in the U.S. market via Canada.

Laplante says his company is proud to buy from Canadian steel mills, which are among the cleanest in the world, but sometimes needs to procure raw materials from the States, too. 

That means they could get hit by the tariff twice, once when buying steel and again when they sell the manufactured products. Adding to the cost is the shrinking value of the Canadian dollar.

“It’s horrible right now, on top of everything,” Laplante said. 

Contrary to the implication of the name, Ideal Roofing doesn’t fix or install roofs. Instead, the company manufactures steel roofs and siding for clients in several sectors, including agricultural, commercial and industrial, as well as residential. It also supplies structural steel and runs a steel service centre. 

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Headquartered in an industrial area off St. Laurent Boulevard, where most of its products are manufactured, Ideal Roofing also has facilities in Brampton and, most recently, Moncton, plus a sales office in Quebec City. Laplante said they expected to employ 350 people this year. 

Just the threat of steel tariffs is already causing a chill in the industry, he noted, as potential clients hold off on their plans.

“Spending is definitely at a minimum,” Laplante said. “People are worried about what’s going to happen, cost-wise, on everything, so we’re seeing a slower start to the year, for sure, because of the uncertainty.” 

Tariffs will put the squeeze on U.S. steel mills to keep up with the demand, and it would be years before new American mills became operational.

“So there’s going to be a shortage in the U.S. market and the price will climb,” Laplante predicted.

Like the automobile industry, the steel industry in Canada is highly integrated with the U.S. to maximize efficiency, with a manufacturing process that often involves a lot of back-and-forth between borders. 

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The Canadian Steel Producers Association says Canada does $20 billion in trade of steel with the U.S., and 40 per cent of Canada’s steel imports come from the U.S. 

As for jobs, according to the CSPA, domestic steel operations directly employ some 23,000 Canadians and support an additional 100,000 indirect jobs. 

Catherine Cobden, who’s president and CEO of the CSPA, said the industry was “deeply disappointed” at the prospect of U.S. tariffs and warned of “significant disruption and economic hardship” in both countries. 

In a statement, she called for urgent government action: “We are urgently demanding that the Government of Canada … ensure any measure taken against our sector is met with retaliatory measures and action to offset the devastating impacts tariffs would have on our sector and our workers.”

Laplante echoed the need for government action, adding that major public infrastructure projects such as CHEO’s 10-year, $818-million redevelopment plan should make it a priority to buy Canadian whenever possible. 

“It’s almost an insult when they don’t even consider a local company like us,” Laplante said. 

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