Statement from Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe regarding tariff impacts
On behalf of the City of Waterloo and Council, I extend our sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister and his team for continuing to work hard to secure a good trade deal for Canada. We support the direction that no deal is better than a bad deal – especially one that could have long-term consequences. Even with a change in U.S. government, trade will not return to how it worked before.
In 2025, Waterloo Council and staff realized that unpredictability and change were the new normal and immediately developed a 10-point U.S. Tariff Response Plan. The 10 actions - already in motion - support local businesses, mitigate tariff impacts, streamline development approvals and advance key capital projects. It adds more support for local startups, local small businesses, economic development and includes coordinated advocacy for government funding.
To increase our resilience, the City has recently invested $600,000 in the Accelerator Center to create the AC Health Tech program, supporting an export-ready health tech sector. This will create 120 new good-paying jobs and support 60 existing positions by helping the sector reduce reliance on U.S. markets. The program will also help companies innovate, scale and build resilient business models that can withstand ongoing trade disruptions. To support this investment, Ontario is providing $270,000 in funding.
Since 2025, we have also worked with the Region of Waterloo AI Coalition. Small local companies can hire university students at highly subsidized rates to assist in integrating AI safely and responsibly into their businesses. In addition, Economic Development staff and I have met with numerous businesses of all sizes and from all sectors to better understand how the city and other governments can support them.
The City is connected and working with senior representatives of BESTWR, which includes Waterloo Economic Development Corporation, local Chambers of Commerce, Explore Waterloo Region and Communitech and our municipal counterparts to ensure we are working collaboratively on behalf of all residents and business owners. We will continue to support businesses of all sizes.
We are also working on an event through the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre during Small Business Week this October to connect local small business owners with local service providers to support business growth.
We encourage all cities, provinces and residents across Canada to continue buying Canadian products. Closer to home, we are continuing our campaign to Support Local, Support Waterloo, focusing on sharing the stories of Waterloo businesses and encouraging a culture of supporting local among residents. Small, everyday choices can and will make a big difference.
We continue to talk with and encourage all provinces and territories to eliminate inter-provincial and inter-territorial trade barriers. Canadians need and want to buy from other Canadians.
Lastly, it’s important to share resources with local businesses, including current trade-related support programs available through all three levels of government
I encourage small, medium and large businesses in Waterloo with questions to connect with my office or with our Economic Development staff for more information on how the city can support our local business community.
Shop local. Support local. Buy Canadian.