Mayor worries of “gray skies” for Stratford as trade-tariff threats loom

Mayor Martin Ritsma said council would be foolish to pass the 2025 budget thinking it will be blue skies for the Festival City. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per-cent trade tariffs on all Canadian goods may mean this coming year will be gray skies.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“We are in unprecedented times right now,” Mayor Martin Ritsma warned at the Jan. 16, 2025, budget deliberations. “And we can’t ignore that. You turn on the radio or television, you will know the gravity of the situation.”

The situation he was referring to is American President Donald Trump’s proposed 25 per-cent tariffs on all Canadian goods – a proposal Ontario Premier Doug Ford said could see half-a-million job losses in the province.

“We could say, ‘You know what? Those won’t impact the City of Stratford – our manufacturing, our auto sector, they won’t,’ ” Ritsma said about the potential job losses. “But I think it’s easier for us to be prudent right now to make sure that we are aware of the economic impact.”

In response to the trade threat, Ritsma suggested council look at the 2025 budget with the possibility of “gray skies” rather than blue in mind. He put forward a motion to defer all new staff positions previously approved by the budget committee that would increase taxes.

That would have affected six new positions and translated into about $310,000 in savings. Translated into what taxpayers would see, it would have saved them about $3 a month.

Coun. Jo-Dee Burbach didn’t support the motion, calling it “performative,” given just how little they impact the levy.

“These expanded positions will actually allow staff to do their work more efficiently,” Burbach said. “And I do worry … if we don't have enough people to do the work, how are we ever going to build more housing? How are we ever going to move forward in a productive way that isn't actually going to cost us more in the long run, taxpayers and otherwise?”

Coun. Brad Beatty agreed with Burbach in part.

“Fifteen years sitting here on council, I’ve seen a lot. I don’t know if its actually unprecedented times,” he said. “I’ve seen cyber attacks, I've seen COVID. … What's going on in the states? We have no control. We have no control over what the federal government is going to do. We have no control over what the provincial government is going to do. We can only control what we're going to do right here.

“Adding staff isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's not evil to add staff. If you want to be brave, be brave. Find $1 million. Find $2 million. For me, this is a nice gesture but it’s not going to make a real difference.”

However, Coun. Taylor Briscoe was one of the councillors who supported the mayor’s motion, saying it is an important line to be drawn for upper levels of government.

“We're hearing rhetoric of canceling our $10-a-day daycare,” Briscoe said. “That's going to be a $30,000ish a year for child cost that families will have to absorb, as well as potentially a family member losing a job. … So, I share the concerns and I think it's one of these difficult situations where we're making a tough call to preserve the immediate affordability for our citizens, but we're also making a really strong stand against upper levels that we will no longer and our citizens will no longer foot the bill for your inability to meet their needs.”

Though supported by many around the horseshoe, Ritsma’s motion was defeated in a split 5-5 vote. Coun. Mark Hunter was absent.

The budget was subsequently passed at that meeting with a tax rate increase at 5.41 per cent – just shy of the “south of five per cent” the mayor wished to see at the outset of the deliberations; however, council may continue to make revisions until the budget bylaw is passed at a subsequent council meeting.

For more on the recently passed budget and the changes council made, see our cover story.