By Tom Parkin
October 28th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Almost $1.2 billion in steel and lumber was imported in August even as Canadians paid the price in jobs and gold for Trump’s steep tariffs on saw mill and steel mill workers.
Despite 10 months of Trump and his campaign of economic force against Canada, neither Canada or Ontario has yet put in place “Buy Canada” laws. The federal government has refused to match tariffs. The import of lumber and steel continues.
Budget due in November will include Buy Canada provisions to come into effect in spring 2026.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has recently said his budget next month will include Buy Canada provisions to come into effect in spring 2026.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has yet to signal any timeline for Buy Ontario provisions, though Opposition NDP leader Marit Stiles recently announced her plan to give priority to Ontario-made products
Steel and lumber imports $1.2 billion in August
In August, 2025, $945 million in basic and semi-finished iron or steel products were imported into Canada and $217 million in lumber came into our country, according to Statistics Canada’s report on August merchandise trade, released earlier this month.
While the imports continue, Canada is paying the price in workers’ jobs and taxpayer subsidies.
The Canadian government is spending hundreds of millions to keep steel mills afloat and has recently vowed to accelerate saw mill access to $1.2 billion subsidy fund.
Meanwhile, saw mills close in Ear Fall, Ontario, and go on temporary idle in Atitokan and Ignace, Ontario.
When a sawmill shuts down – it is very hard to reopen.
Once industries are lost, it’s hard to bring them back
A failure to defend industries at this key moment can result in closures impossible to recover from. When plants are closed and equipment torn out and sold, the jobs rarely come back. Many Canadian communities will rust if Trump’s economic force leaves Canada exporting logs rather than lumber or minerals rather than steel.
If Canada allows Trump to crush value-adding industries, Canadians, who live on a land of forests and minerals, will become dependent on imported lumber and steel.
Canadians need to know that practically no stainless steel in any form, bar, plate, pipe, tube, strip, forging etc. is produced in our country.
That said I don’t know how much of the steel referred to in this article is stainless however it is worth noting.
It goes without saying that virtually any projects nuclear, defence and others that require stainless materials are sourced offshore.
I recall when I worked for INCO (now Vale) in Sudbury at the nickel refinery INCO briefly got into strip to make coins. That initiative never got off the ground!
The nickel powders and pellets refined at the Vale CCNR in Sudbury, the Vale Refinery at Long harbour NL. and the Glencore (formerly Falconbridge) refinery in Sudbury is virtually all shipped abroad.
The second largest nickel reserve in the world is at Crawford Lake owned by Canada Nickel located 40 km above Timmins. Outside of the touted Ring of Fire close to infrastructure not requiring a three-billion-dollar road that will probably take ten years to complete. It was the one mining project outside of the ring that Ford put forward to the national project register.
Although 10% each is owned respectively by Samsung, Agnico-Eagle and Anglo-American PLC none of these companies will finance the project for primarily two reasons, regulatory roadblocks and as the Koreans noted challenges s with local communities.
Don’t hold your breath or believe any politician that states we are going to save Canada developing critical minerals. It is a scam. Seriously, you are being duped.
Pity eh!