In the face of extreme tariffs, we need to consider alternatives to the US products and services that we are purchasing.

There are many developments and opportunities to be excited about in 2025, but with the seeming probability of the Americans applying a 25% tariff to its Canadian imports in the days ahead – it is not lost on us that many of econext‘s members are going to be directly and potentially severely impacted. Indeed, many of Newfoundland and Labrador’s industries will be challenged – along with the entirety of Canada’s economy.

Businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are going to need our help. And while we are confident that our Provincial and Federal governments will do everything in their power to help businesses and their workers through this turbulence, there are decisions that we all make on a daily basis that can be helpful too.

We should be doing our best to buy as local as we possibly can.

Are there products and services that you are sourcing from the United States that can be displaced by Newfoundland and Labrador alternatives? If you cannot source what you need within the province, can you get them from somewhere else in Canada? And if not Canada, what about from nations more friendly to Canada?

These are questions that every business can ask itself and act upon. The bottom line is that Canadians need to strongly reconsider spending money on products and services from a country that seems intent on causing harm to our own. The irony is not lost on me that this message will be spread on social media platforms owned by those who are indifferent or highly supportive of the punitive trade action being pursued. This is a problem.

And so it is incumbent on all of us think through what we have the means to do in our own work. This week econext will be reviewing the products and services that it procures to see where it can shift. If many Canadian organizations, corporations, and individuals do the same – we can mitigate some of the damage that is to come and also strengthen our domestic economy long-term.

A call to action: take some time this week to think about where you are buying from. The added benefit of buying more local? You will reduce the environmental footprint of your business.

// Kieran Hanley
CEO

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