Organized by MP for Ajax, Jennifer McKelvie
April 7, 2026
A round table for Ajax manufacturers was held in April to obtain feedback and insight for topics related to the impact of U.S. tariffs and the recent war in the Middle East, requirements for CUSMA negotiations, and other current challenges for manufacturers.
Jennifer McKelvie, MP for Ajax, requested this round table with support from the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade and the committee for Manufacturing Advocacy, lead by Director, Malcolm Gurley along with support from Suresh Kumar, CEO of Connecting GTA, and Michael Marangos, Business Retention & Expansion Advisor from the Town of Ajax.
There were excellent discussions with passionate and frank input from all attendees. Current issues were discussed in the spirit of openness and positivity to prompt action and improvement. The questions asked were coordinated through related federal ministries and the input gathers is to be utilized by the federal government.
High Level Summary
Challenges Due to U.S. Tariffs:
- Many supply chain relationships take years to establish and rigorous certification and compliance requirements do not allow rapid changes. So, adaptability is constrained. This is particularly relevant in the aerospace industry.
- For example, Safran has projects that are worth $30M and are locked in over a 5-year period.
- Organizations like Mother Parkers have been subjected to 35% tariffs even through their products are made in Canada. The spirit of CUSMA and free trade has been undermined.
- Abrupt tariff level changes have caused havoc with over charges and necessary corrections, and orders held up at the border.
- Retaliatory tariffs need to be very targeted with specific intention versus with blunt force and wide application that results in the impact on Canadian consumers.
Challenges Due to the War in the Middle East:
- Higher pricing for diesel has severely impacted the trucking industry with margin erosion.
- Higher prices for jet fuel have severely impacted the aerospace industry with margin erosion and the impact on project planning.
- Many supply chains have been severely impacted due to the blockage of trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. For example, pricing increases in petroleum products have impacted the production of plastics in local manufacturing.
Free Trade Agreements:
- The Canadian government is on the right track with establishing more free trade agreements globally.
- We need to expand global free trade deals while also preserving free trade with the U.S. through CUSMA.
- Various types of steel need to be covered by global free trade agreements as this will improve competitiveness for the Canadian aerospace industry.
- Continue to remove interprovincial trade barriers. While some progress has been made, we have not seen the final outcome we are all expecting.
CUSMA Negotiations:
- Recent indicators show a strong backing for CUSMA renewal from major companies on both sides of the border. It has taken years to establish current cross border supply chains and making changes can be very costly and difficult due to compliance requirements and other factors.
- For the aerospace industry, include all aerospace parts under CUSMA and remove duties for imports.
- Add coffee and tea produced in Canada under CUSMA.
- Include “Made in Canada” as compliant with CUSMA.
- While we need to protect our sovereignty in negotiations, we need to give some wins to the U.S. negotiators in order to defuse egos and save face. CUSMA is too important to jeopardise. Ideas include:
- Give a bit on the dairy stance.
- Allow U.S. alcohol to be stocked at the LCBO and other organizations across Canada.
- Re-establish the Keystone Excel pipeline to the U.S.
Buy Canadian:
- All local organizations at the table expressed a desire to expand their supply chains within Canada.
- Canadian organizations require a centralized system with a portal to search for Canadian made products for supply chains in Canada. This is a critical requirement!
- The EMC (Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium) has been working on a platform.
- Leverage the power of AI along with available databases to power search platforms.
- There are many opportunities in the defense industry to expand the network of Canadian suppliers to smaller sized organizations versus the traditional large players.
Tariff Management:
- Current tariff codes and subsets under these codes are too complex and inconsistent. This results in extensive time to manage and this has an impact on productivity within Canadian organizations.
- There are too many items under each tariff code and this results in excessive complexity.
- Large courier organizations apply incorrect charges for tariffs resulting in corrections and held up orders.
Expanding Exports to New Markets:
- More regulatory help is required for new markets (for example, expansion into parts of the EU). Good examples were articulated by Lorelei Hepburn from The Environmental Factor Inc.
- Small companies require help in export expansion but they can be very cost competitive in international markets.
- Establish and promote more curated trade missions for small and medium enterprises.
Expanding Imports to Countries beyond the U.S.:
- There is a requirement for government help in expanding imports to international supply chains beyond the U.S. so that details and costs are properly applied.
- This is a specific need for Treforest Inc.
Government Funding:
- There are (15) different programs to support manufacturing organizations for import and export expansion as well as for the impact from tariffs. Fragmentation has been evident and most organizations need 3rd party consultative support to navigate through available funding options.
- Funding approval durations from the time of submission to approval has been excessive over the last year with durations often taking 6 to 9 months.
- Funding approval durations have held up capital investments for key manufacturing productivity projects across Canada.
Attendance:
Leaders from Safran Landing Systems, Mother Parkers, The Shandex Group, ETI (Elkhart Tri-Went Industrial), Triforest Inc, The Environmental Factor, 6 Degrees Consulting, the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade, Connecting GTA, the Town of Ajax, and The Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Rob Cerjanec, MPP for Ajax, and Marilyn Crawford, Regional Councillor for Ward 1 attended as well.
Location of Round Table:
369 Global – 100 Westney Road S., Ajax
