Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath was in Washington D.C. from March 4 to March 7 amid the ongoing tariff war with the United States.
While the trip was for the annual Great Lakes Day advocacy event celebrated by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI), the event also gave the mayor a chance to speak directly to American policymakers regarding the tariffs and cross-border trade.
GLSLCI is a coalition of over 200 U.S. and Canadian mayors who advocate for the environmental and economic health of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin.
Horwath was joined in Washington D.C. by over a dozen mayors and elected officials from Ontario and Quebec.
She tweeted out that she met with Democratic Congressman Frank Mrvan (Indiana) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (Michigan) on day one of her trip.
On day two she shared that during her time there she heard “consensus” from both Democratic and Republican senators, representatives and mayors in the Great Lakes Region that “tariffs hurt Canadians and Americans alike.”
Indeed, the GLSLCI Board put forward a resolution opposing the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
Nearly 200 million tons of cargo moves through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region which accounts for approximately 50 per cent of Canada-U.S. trade.
Canada is also the primary export market and one of the number one import markets for all eight Great Lakes states.
In terms of Hamilton specifically, the city was ranked as the eighth most vulnerable Canadian city to U.S. tariffs by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Hamilton’s manufacturing sector accounts for approximately 27,966 jobs with employment in iron and steel mills and ferro alloy manufacturing 21 times more concentrated in Hamilton compared to the national benchmark.
In 2023, Hamilton’s manufacturing exports totaled $9.9 billion.
In addition to Horwath’s advocacy efforts, the City of Hamilton has taken a number of other actions to fight back against the tariffs.
City Council already passed a motion to change parts of the municipal procurement policy in an effort to favour local and Canadian vendors, but city staff are working on additional measures.
Horwath has also convened the Mayor’s Roundtable on Trade and Tariffs, bringing together 14 of the city’s largest manufacturers, the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority, Hamilton International Airport, city leadership, local economic development officials, and all three Hamilton-area Chambers of Commerce to assess the impacts of the tariffs and discuss strategies.
In addition, the city is working with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Big Mayors’ Caucus and their new tariff sub-committee.
In February, the City of Hamilton’s Economic Development team distributed a Tariff Impact Questionnaire to businesses across the city and received approximately 200 responses.
“These tariffs would deal a billion-dollar economic blow to our city — thousands of Hamiltonians rely on manufacturing jobs to support their families,” said Horwath in a press release.
“Protecting our local businesses, workers and their families, and ensuring Hamilton remains a strong economic force is job number one right now.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
