Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter
Local businesses are adapting to the uncertainty brought on by the Trump administration in the United States.
The ripple effect of tariffs and talk of escalating trade wars has reached the Valley, resulting in shrinking profit margins, difficult decisions, and a great deal of concern for the local business community.
Jonathan Turenne, the owner of the IGA supermarkets in Ormstown and Huntingdon, says that while businesses like his are trying to adapt, it feels more like improvisation. “When you live with uncertainty, you can’t plan for the long term, so you can’t plan for stability,” he explains. “We are trying to make long-term projections to give ourselves a guideline, but then we adjust them every week, or almost every day.”
Turenne says he is also noticing the impacts of uncertainty on the public. “We’re starting to see it here and across Quebec as a whole, with companies closing or reducing their production volumes. Jobs are being lost. We’re pretty close to the U.S. border here. It’s a strategic location for people who export and import. We’re definitely going to feel it,” he says, noting that customers are holding back on spending.
However, they are spending more on local, Canadian, and Quebec-made products. Turenne says that while positive, the trend is having an impact on product availability and the bottom line. “Local products are in higher demand everywhere, so they are harder to get,” he explains, adding that this affects the price.
“Often, we run promotions at a loss to attract customers, and to sell other products,” says Turenne. Once a price has been advertised it can’t be changed, even if demand has driven up the cost. “Automatically, I am selling at a loss,” he explains, suggesting the fact customers want products on a year-round basis complicates things further.
The purchasing catalog follows global production to ensure, for example, that there are always grapes or strawberries on the shelves. Production forecasts are made a year in advance, with a bit of leeway on the supply side to account for the impact of weather. “But three months out, your purchases are fixed. It is complicated to manage, and the impact we are seeing today is based on decisions we made practically before Trump was elected,” says Turenne. “We are kind of stuck with it,” he shrugs.
Farm supply businesses also impacted
Michel Laplante, the owner of Les Équipements Laplante et Lévesque Ltée (L&L) in Ormstown, says he has also had to adapt to these uncertain times. Around ten per cent of his products come from the United States, and he decided to invest in many of these before the tariffs were imposed on April 2. Now, he says, it is Canadian counter-tariffs that might impact his farm equipment business as well.
“We brought in a lot of equipment that we don’t need right away, but that we will need in the summer,” Laplante explains, noting they are checking the codes on incoming stock to see if pricing has increased and if it includes tariffs. Steel has become more expensive, for example, and suppliers have had no choice but to adapt their pricing. “We have to deal with it and adjust. But my customers who have signed contracts don’t want to pay 25 per cent more,” he admits.
He says that like Turenne, he is sensing that customers are wary of spending too much right now. “We see it with my dairy customers. Supply management is a big issue, and the U.S. doesn’t like supply management,” he says, noting dairy farmers are also having to adopt new animal welfare regulations. “They have to invest to adapt. Some are going to give up altogether. Others will invest and then expand. But right now, they have expenses to cover. In the back of their minds, they are wondering if their quota will stay the same,” he explains.
The value of community
Turenne bought the two IGA supermarkets a year ago. One of the first things he did was join the Association des Gens d’Affaires d’Ormstown et des Environs (AGAO+). “It is important to be present on the local scene,” he says. Laplante says that while the association isn’t essential for his business, he joined to support and encourage entrepreneurs who are just starting out in the community.
Both agree it is important to remain optimistic. “When we end up in situations like this, everyone quickly positions themselves to do what is necessary to make things work,” says Turenne. “We will find solutions. People will find ways to help each other wherever they can,” he adds. “We have always been good at that here.”
Turenne says that customers also have confidence in local products. “When you say that a product is made in Canada or Quebec, people don’t even think twice. They know it’s going to be a good quality product,” he explains. “We don’t have to fight to justify the value of what we do. That’s why there is no reason to be worried right now.”
As for the uncertainty on the horizon, Turenne says businesses have to hope it’s nothing more than a dark cloud that will pass over quickly.
