First Nations are grappling with uncertainty and bracing for impact as the Canada-U.S. trade war escalates, with steep tariffs taking effect on some business sectors.
About 7.5 per cent of Indigenous small and medium-sized businesses are exporting and stand to suffer, said Shannin Metatawabin, CEO of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, though the ultimate impact is hard to predict.
"We don't have enough data to really support understanding where Indigenous businesses are in the spectrum of trade," Metatawabin said.
U.S. President Donald Trump began hitting Canada with tariffs, which are a government tax levied on imported goods, in early 2025.
British Columbia faces the highest consequences to the new 50 per cent tariffs on certain goods, causing concern among First Nations in the province that are involved in forestry.
John Jack, elected chief councillor of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations on Vancouver Island, said they are "potentially deeply impacted due to our heavy investment in the forestry industry."
Those investments include its own company, HFN Forestry Limited, a 35-per-cent partnership with Western Forest Products on nearly 137,000 hectares of forest, and Iskum Investments, a First Nations consortium looking at building a second-growth focused mill.
“It is something that we're deeply concerned by, given that the United States is such a huge portion of our current forestry revenues,” said Jack.
Jack said tariff impacts would affect Huu-ay-aht citizens, who benefit from the revenue generated by forestry.
“We pay for things like early childhood educators, we pay for things like daycare workers and trauma-informed counsellors and all of these things we do to help make our people's lives better in a way that helps make our community stronger and contribute to B.C. and Canada,” said Jack.
Jack said many Huu-ay-aht citizens are also employed by the forestry industry, directly or indirectly, and are worried about their jobs.
“That uncertainty can play havoc on a family situation,” said Jack.
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Jack said he is looking at opportunities to support B.C. and Canada in new trade relationships with places like Japan, South Korea and China for the forestry industry, and diversifying into things like seafood.
