Capital purchases by municipalities are worth millions of dollars. The last new fire truck bought in 2022 cost the city just under $1 million. (file photo/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Tariff response

Prince Albert council already discussing procurement options

Mar 5, 2025 | 4:32 PM

Tariffs levied by American president Donald Trump began yesterday and today, Premier Scott Moe said that along with the provincial government, he expects municipalities and school divisions to follow suit in avoiding business with American companies.

Prince Albert Mayor Bill Powalinsky said that he and the rest of council have been watching the situation closely.

“The questions have already come up at council meetings as we’re procuring supplies,” he said. “Are these from Canadian companies and so far, the good news is yes.”

Generally, once the annual budget is passed early in the year, managers will begin the buying process for all of the approved goods. That can range from office pens to vehicles and heavy equipment.

Some of the biggest Trump tariffs are levied against the lumber industry which will no doubt impact the plan to build an OSB mill north of Prince Albert.

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“To a degree it’s going to affect decisions around the OSB mill for sure,” Powalinsky said.

Several weeks ago, paNOW reached out to Al Balisky of Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) Industrial Investments LP to see what impact tariffs would have on the construction which was planned to start this year.

His response was direct: “Trump tariffs – all bad for everyone in Canada!”

Looking at the broader Saskatchewan picture, Prince Albert sees a lot of traffic coming from the northern area, such as uranium mines in the Athabasca region and Foran’s McIlvenna Bay mine near Creighton in North East Saskatchewan.

“That could result in a decrease in traffic coming through and of course, that always has an impact. That could certainly affect the operations at the airport. Our service industry could be affected as well to a lesser degree,” said Powalinsky.

While the province is not outright banning business with American companies, Moe said his expectation is that government and related buyers prioritize Canadian suppliers ‘with the goal of reducing or eliminating US procurement.”

Future capital projects planned by the government have been paused and those in progress, like the major expansion of the Victoria Hospital locally, will be asked to report on American products used and to reduce the amount.

Liquor retailers will no longer be allowed to buy alcohol produced in the United States but can choose to continue selling the product they already have. Sask Lotteries has been directed to find new suppliers for the $43 million in VLT and slot machines it plans to replace this year.

Trump is notorious for changing policies and announcements without notice so how long the tariffs will last is unknown.

Powalinsky said that the impacts will be far reaching, however.

“It’s a huge boulder dropped into the pond and I’m sure we’re going to be feeling the waves of this for a while,” he said.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social