Bradford is bracing for the brunt of tariffs imposed by the U.S. government, and in response increasing its support for Canadian companies.
Based on a report from legal, risk management and procurement manager Vanessa Morum, council approved updating the town’s purchasing policy to support local, regional and other non-American businesses, during its March 18 regular meeting.
“We’ve had a few people yell at us saying we should be supporting Canadian — we are,” Mayor James Leduc said.
While he explained staff and council have been working on the issue since January and had conversations with other municipalities pledging similar support, he said most don’t have their policies in place yet.
“We’ve got the policy moving forward; we’re in a better position than most,” Leduc said. “I’m quite proud of it and happy that we have it.”
For any goods or services costing less than $133,800, or construction costing less than $334,400, Morum recommended only purchasing from Canadian suppliers, unless there are no domestic options available.
For purchases above those amounts, Morum recommended creating criteria to give preference to Canadian and non-American suppliers — even if they are marginally more expensive than their American counterparts — but in all cases warned there may be instances where purchasing from U.S. suppliers is unavoidable.
Those thresholds are based on the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) which requires open competitive procurement between provinces and territories, as well as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with international partners like the European Union which requires treating some foreign suppliers as if they are local or domestic.
The thresholds in the CFTA typically change every two years, and Morum expects an increase on Jan. 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper wanted to know how the new policy would impact the town financially, especially in terms of material costs, but town chief administrative officer Geoff McKnight, explained the cost differences from buying Canadian would be difficult to predict.
“That’s part of the dilemma of what we’re all facing is the unknown,” he said, echoing Morum’s own comments in the report. “The timing of tariffs, the extent of them, whether they’re on, whether they’re off — it seems to change not just daily, but by the tweet.”
The two sectors set to have the most significant impact on the town include manufacturing and construction, according to Morum.
“Increased costs for heavy equipment and construction projects place an unnecessary strain on town finances and, ultimately, the taxpayer,” she said in her report.
While the purchasing process for “the majority of large-ticket items” expected to be subject to tariffs is already complete, Morum warned that major construction projects such as the Bond Head Fire Station, new civic centre and upgrades to the water pollution control plant aren’t expected to go to tender until later this year.
Both she and McKnight confirmed that if projects can’t be completed within their allocated budgets, they would come back to council for further consideration.
In response to U.S. tariff threats, the mayor requested the staff report during the Feb. 4 council meeting, and since then Morum noted some tariffs and sanctions have been imposed while others continue to be threatened, in an ever-changing situation.
Meanwhile, she explained there is no standard for what defines a Canadian business, which will require further research to ensure the new policy and criteria are legally defensible.
Staff anticipate having that work complete by May 1, and will continue to look at other options to encourage local suppliers as recommended by the town’s Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy, which council adopted on Feb. 18.