idk seems bad
it's a trade war and locals have thoughts
We’re in a trade war, started by the United States. Everything else aside, this is gonna fundamentally alter our place in the world, economically and otherwise. I’ve been trying to think of anything that’s happened in my lifetime that is as consequential for Canada, specifically, and aside from maybe the referendum on whether Quebec would remain a part of the country and, in a slower-burn kind of way, the original signing of the free trade agreement with the United States, I’m coming up short. But this is a local newsletter so let’s talk about local things.
The forest industry is facing many challenges and has experienced mill closures and curtailments affecting thousands of jobs in the last few years. Current conditions in the sector are not only negatively impacting jobs and operations, but also government revenue, and investment in the province. This tariff on all forest product exports will be devastating, potentially leading to further job losses hurting the workers and communities across the province that depend on forestry.
So says the B.C. Council of Forest Industries and hm, yeah, that seems not great. Remember, the softwood lumber industry in B.C. is already facing U.S. tariffs and they have taken some of the blame for sawmills in our region shutting down and this will just make it worse. Let’s check in with John Brink, the Prince George businessman who’s put in an offer to buy those sawmills and has also focused his business more on manufacturing goods rather than simply shipping out raw materials.
John Brink, founder of B.C.-based Brink Group of Companies, said Mr. Trump’s tariffs are forcing him to re-evaluate his short- and long-term business strategy at his 400-employee company, which focuses on lumber, real estate, warehousing and media.
His firm exports more than 90 per cent of its product, mainly lumber, to the U.S. But starting on Tuesday, he said the prices his U.S. buyers must pay could get a lot more expensive.
“Prices will go up. There’s no question about that. And that’s generally accepted by all experts, on both sides of the border, that duties and tariffs will drive up the cost of building houses,” he said.
In the long term, Mr. Brink said he’ll focus on diversifying away from the U.S. and building up other, more predictable relationships with trade partners, such as Asia. While the demand from Asia isn’t necessarily enough to make up for what Canada currently gets from the U.S., Mr. Brink said with time it could grow.
“We have an amazing country and to be held hostage by, with all due respect, the President of the United States, I think doesn’t serve us well,” he said.
Oof, well.
For what it’s worth, the American counterparts in this industry don’t seem thrilled, either.
An ongoing challenge facing home builders is the cost and availability of building materials. Since January 2021, inputs to residential construction saw price increases of just over 30%. Our sector relies heavily on a diverse and cost-efficient supply chain for building materials such as lumber, steel, gypsum and aluminum. While home building is inherently domestic, builders rely on components produced abroad, with Canada and Mexico representing nearly 25% of building materials imports. Imposing additional tariffs on these imports will lead to higher material costs, which will ultimately be passed on to home buyers in the form of increased housing prices. Further supply chain disruptions from increased tariffs coupled with increased demand for materials could also hinder rebuilding efforts in areas affected by natural disasters, which you have pledged to help rebuild as quickly as possible.
The local mining industry may do slightly better. From the same article, here’s Taskeo, which operates that copper mine about 200 km south of town:
Canada’s copper mining industry could be largely spared from the impact of the Trump tariffs, said Stuart McDonald, chief executive of Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Ltd. because much of the copper concentrate mined domestically is sent to refineries in Asia for processing. Taseko operates the Gibraltar site in B.C., which is Canada’s second biggest copper mine.
“We don’t really have a choice here in B.C.,” said Mr. McDonald in an interview. “We sell to Asian markets, and that’s going to continue with or without U.S. tariffs.”
Some local councillors are thinking locally, too. Councillor Kyle Sampson says he’s looking to restrict U.S. companies from bidding on city contracts:
I’ve asked our City Manager to explore our legal options under Canada’s trade laws to restrict U.S. bidders from our procurement processes, and to update Council. We already push the legal limits of our RFP process to prioritize local businesses, but especially now, I want to ensure we’re not helping American companies profit off us while their government slaps unfair trade barriers on Canadian industries, and that we keep those dollars as close to home as we legally can.
Even the historically apolitical Hell Yeah PG is getting in on the action, sharing a list of Canadian-made food products you can buy in place of popular American alternatives. I would imagine there might be an increased interest in the farmer’s market, soon…
Anyways, if anyone wants to let me know if there was booing at the Tri-City Americans games at the CN Centre this weekend like there was elsewhere, send a note.
News roundup:
OK, so I was absent for a week. I was a combination of busy/tired/sick so that’s what happens! I wasn’t super following the news so this is not a definitive roundup of everything that I might have posted had I been doing this regularly, but maybe it’s the broad strokes? The first one, though, is that Olympic medalist/figure skating star Elvis Stojko is performing in Mackenzie and I love the advertising campaign:
The 2025 budget was approved with a 6.21 per cent tax increase. That includes the library’s $186,183 funding increase ask, but only just. Citizen editor Kennedy Gordon chides those who voted against it, writing, “Libraries are community centres in the truest sense — places of education, creativity, and refuge for the vulnerable. To reduce their funding in the name of innovation without taking into account their unique role in our community’s well-being sends the wrong message.”
Updated Official Community Plan predicts 100,000 residents in Prince George by 2040.
SD57 student enrolment projected to drop over the next decade.
Mayor pitches economic development committee during budget talks.
Wall of Fame is opening a second location — still a relatively rare move for a local business.
The late photographer Chuck Chin to receive local history service award.
Northern BC one of hardest-hit areas as ambulance union deals with paramedic shortage.
Integris transitioning in-person services away from downtown Town Centre branch.
Winter paddleboarding in Prince George garnering more attention.
Local biathlete Moira Green finishes near the top half at European Open.
PG Speed Skater Carolina Hiller collects gold medal at World Cup championships in Calgary.
Jim Good finally has Goodsir Nature Park exactly how he wants it.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.
Pasting in a comment I just left on Justin McElroy's post (https://justinmcelroy.substack.com/p/52-countries-in-52-weeks-part-28):
Regarding the weird dread so many of us are feeling - I've been doing some reading on "hypernormalization," the realization that the systems around us are fake and/or collapsing, but not having any idea of how to get out of it, so everyone kinda pretends things are normal.
This term was initially developed by Alexi Yurchak, a Russian anthropologist who used it to describe the period just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Filmmaker Adam Curtis expanded on this in his documentary Hypernormalization (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr7T07WfIhM - it's almost 3 hours long, so I haven't watched it yet - but will as soon as I can dedicate the time.)
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I firmly believe that the way out of this is to bring our focus locally, where we can affect the most change, by building communities and mutual aid networks, and stamping out bigotry whenever we see it. Our friends might lose their jobs, their housing, and (with the creep of conservatism that's been creeping north from America) their rights. We should of course continue to pressure our provincial and federal politicians (looking specifically at my MP, Todd) - if we're loud they can't ignore us for long - but we've got to be ready to support the people in our local community when needed. This is gonna suck, and we can get through it if we come together.
Even the normally frothing mouth anti-Trudeau local FB pages have turned their anger toward the US.