A new poll says that Canada’s business leaders are in a “holding pattern” due to rising uncertainty sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s import tariffs.
The poll by Léger Marketing that was conducted for The Financial Post newspaper found that
senior business leaders see trade diversification outside of the U.S. as the top priority for Canada’s federal government.
Other government priorities should be reducing interprovincial trade barriers and tax reform, according to the survey.
The Léger poll also found 86% of senior business leaders are concerned about inflation and 87% about a potential recession in Canada this year.
Léger concluded that Canadian businesses are in “a holding pattern” amid the ongoing trade conflict with America.
To manage costs, business leaders across Canada plan to cutback on spending (68%), buy or invest more in Canada (64%), and look for alternatives to American suppliers (63%).
The poll also found that 38% of senior business leaders had no idea what will happen with U.S. tariffs imposed on Canada.
Another 23% said they expected the U.S. to remove all, or nearly all, tariffs on Canadian goods in the coming weeks.
More than half of business leaders (55%) said they trust Prime Minister Mark Carney to manage the Canada–U.S. relationship and defend the country against President Trump’s agenda.
The survey was conducted between April 29 and May 5 among 201 Canadian business leaders, said Léger Marketing.
