Local businesses see varied impacts from tariffs

Brenda Forsyth, owner of Nifty Gifty Norfolk in Waterford, has seen first-hand some of the fallout from the broader economic situation.

Lisa Timpf

Advocate Contributor

In a speech in Calgary in 2025, Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, discussed the ways in which tariffs and economic uncertainty were taking a toll on the Canadian economy. In that speech, he noted potential impacts like reduced spending, reduced sales, increased costs for individuals and businesses, and other factors.

These impacts have trickled down to the local level, rendering the situation for local businesses challenging.

“I don’t believe there is any business untouched by tariffs and economic uncertainty,” says Karen Matthews, Executive Director of the Simcoe and District Chamber of Commerce. “I think the biggest challenge I’m hearing from businesses is that there’s not a lot of stability of pricing.” 

The current instability illustrates how delicate trade and economic structures are around the world, Matthews says.

“Canada is moving forward with trade talks with other countries… to open up new trade deals to give us more stability, and that’s important. But we still need to trade with the United States.”

On the plus side, she notes, local businesses don’t have to go it alone. Businesses that are part of the local Chamber of Commerce are also represented by the provincial and national Chamber of Commerce organizations, and these organizations have been very active in working with their counterparts in the United States to strive for greater economic stability. Being a part of the Chamber give businesses “a seat at the table,” Matthews says.

With prices going up, “maybe people are tightening their pocketbooks,” Matthews says. “There are only so many dollars to go around.”

The current economic climate has some unexpected twists, Matthews says. For example, “as larger department stores started to close, people were turning more to fast fashion.” This had a trickle-down effect for thrift stores, because fast fashion “is not really what they are looking for. It shows how a change in the economy affects all of us.”

Lisa Santos, owner of Vintage Hair Studio in Simcoe, has seen the impact of reined-in spending. “People are not spending the way they used to,” she says. “Everything has gone up, and that takes a toll on everyone’s lives.”

Santos notes that while people still use basic services like a haircut, some of the higher-end services are not being purchased. In talking to her connections within the industry, Santos can attest that the phenomenon isn’t unique to Norfolk. “It’s slow for everybody now.”

“Christmas was pretty good,” Santos says, “but we knew we were coming into the slow season. We had a couple of extra months that were a little slower, but we’re trying to manage.”

One way Santos is addressing the situation is by offering discounts. “We have a referral program, we offer 10 per cent off seniors’ haircuts every day, we have discounts on products. If customers have a budget, we try to work with them.”

Tariffs, Santos notes, “made things difficult in terms of orders. We switched to Canadian-manufactured products where possible. We’ve also been shopping local as much as possible. If everybody does a little bit it makes a difference.”

It doesn’t help that businesses were just getting back on a good footing after getting through COVID. On the other hand, Santos says, “COVID taught me to be prepared. It set that precedent for me. Fortunately, we have amazing clients, and a lot of support behind us.”

Karen Kenney, owner of Paulmac’s Pets in Simcoe, notes that the impacts can be broader than we think.

“In the pet industry, we see more of an impact with the health of the Canadian dollar. Meat commodities are traded in American dollars,” so fluctuations in currency rates affect the bottom line.

In Kenney’s case, the economic situation has been more likely to affect peoples’ choice of pet foods, rather than the quantity purchased. One impact of the political situation is that “people are asking for Canadian-made food.” While this tendency isn’t as prevalent as it was when the “fifty-first state” comments first began, she says customers are “more prone to go to a Canadian product.”

Kenny says the rise of online shopping, especially for dog toys, has also impacted her business. Nonetheless, she notes, “Norfolk County is kind of a strange beast. Because it’s such a rural-based community, people tend to be loyal.” In fact, she has found that “Norfolk County is a fiercely loyal community.”

She adds, “I think small communities want to be able to have shopping choices.” In this case, it’s important “to support those shopping choices. If all you shop is big box stores, then one day that’s all that will be there.” Stores like hers, she says, “offer something more than the product. We offer service, knowledge, and a personal touch.”

While there are some indications people are reining in on purchases due to the economic situation, there is still a pent-up demand for travel, according to Kate Stratford, president of South Coast World Travel. “After the pandemic, there was a huge increase in the travel industry,” she notes. 

Carrie Stratford, co-owner of South Coast World Travel, concurs. “It started as a trickle, but once people got their toes in the water,” demand increased. People who used to take one trip a year, now are taking two, while more frequent travelers are even expanding their wish list.

Both Carrie and Kate have seen an increase in “generational travel,” where grandparents travel with their children and grandchildren. Though the uncertainty of the political and economic situation has held some back from travel, it has spurred others on. “People don’t want to miss that opportunity to make memories and have fun with their families,” Carrie says.

Kate notes that cruises continue to be popular, and Europe is “huge” right now. As well, many people are opting for “bucket list” travel to places like Thailand, Africa, and Australia.

South Coast World Travel has also seen increased demand for travel within Canada, with Newfoundland tour packages, cruises departing out of Quebec City, and the Rocky Mountaineer attracting interest.

During the pandemic, a number of travel agencies closed down. “In our industry, we lost almost fifty percent of the brick-and-mortar (operations) and independent contractors,” Kate says. She notes that this may account for some of the up-tick in demand at the remaining agencies. In addition, the pandemic, Kate notes, proved the worth of travel agents in guiding clients through the need to change plans due to changing world conditions.

One side-effect of both the pandemic and the unpredictability of world events is that travelers have shown a greater interest in insurance coverage, including insurance offsetting any requirement to change travel plans due to unexpected events.

Recent world events like violence in Puerto Vallarta and the conflict in Iran has led to challenges and unexpected circumstances. “Keeping clients informed and making sure the experience is what they need it to be” is part of the job, Carrie says.

Brenda Forsyth of Nifty Gifty in Waterford has seen an impact from the economic and political situation. “I believe when tariff info was announced people were leery of what is to come and nervous to spend,” she says. “The start to summer was a bit quieter then usual.”

Despite that, Forsyth notes, “I did have a good holiday season.” However, she noticed that “customers were not spending (money) on bigger decor items for themselves, likely needing those funds for their gift purchases or other (needs). Larger decor items that usually sell well each year, did not.”

Since the threats of the 51st state, and the imposition of tariffs on Canada, there has been discussion in the media about people reducing trips to the United States and traveling within Canada. Forsyth has seen first-hand evidence of this trend.

During the summer, some customers “expressed they were vacationing and choosing destinations within Ontario or within Canada where they normally would be crossing the border. I even had a few U.S. visitors that told me where they were from and said ‘don’t hold it against us’.” 

The desire to travel more within Canada means, “I generally see more people come now in a day than I once did, and many from out of the area, making day trips. Many people are expressing to me that they try to support local, keep it Canadian.”

For her part, Forsyth adds, “if I need anything, supplies and such for the shop, I am keeping it strictly Canadian.”

With most businesses seeing some effect from the changing and sometimes unpredictable economic and political climate, Matthews says it’s an important time to think about shopping local. “The local businesses are the ones that support your sports teams, fundraisers, etc. So it’s a good thing to support them now.”

Matthews notes that the Experience Norfolk booklet produced by the Chamber has been helpful in making guests, and local residents, aware of the experiences, eateries, breweries and distilleries, events, and other attractions located here in Norfolk.

The 2026 version of the Experience Norfolk booklet is in production now, and will be available in “about 100 locations throughout Norfolk,” Matthews says. The library, recreation centre, tourist locations, Chamber offices, and a number of shops will carry the booklet, which is expected to come out “around the first week of May.”