Halifax business’ optimism lowers after Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’

It’s not a surprise to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce that the U.S. government’s policies on tariffs are impacting the optimism of people in the region.

The Q2 conditions report from the organization focuses on how businesses are fairing in the uncertain times, as tariffs continue to be placed on the country by President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Not surprisingly, we’re seeing that there’s been a bit of a decline in business optimism between Q1 and Q2,” Patrick Sullivan, president of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, told The Todd Veinotte Show. “In April, we had liberation day and the uncertainty that’s happened since then, so I think we’re just seeing less optimism among businesses in the greater Halifax area.”

The report details how there have been rising operational costs and an impact on profitability, but there is no concern about the availability of labour. Another interesting point is that businesses are more concerned about Canada’s counter-tariff measures than the U.S. tariffs.

Sullivan also noted that no exporters in the area have shifted production from Canada to down south, because of how unstable the situation is.

“The problem with President Trump is some of these comments come out of the blue, but that’s also a positive thing, if I put it that way, for our economy here, which is without any certainty, no one’s going to make any plans,” he said.

Goods being exported under the Canada, U.S., and Mexico Free Trade Agreement are not being impacted as much, Sullivan said, which has helped soften the blow to businesses. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada and the U.S. restarted their talks June 30, and are still aiming for the July 21 deadline the two leaders set when they met in Alberta at the G7 summit earlier this month.

Trump’s suspension of trade negotiations with Canada on June 27, triggered a weekend of intense discussions between Canadian ministers and their U.S. counterparts.

“Canada is actually looking pretty good when you compare us to some of the other countries that are being impacted by some of these tariffs,” Sullivan said.