The companies are moving to the states because that's where the majority of their customers are. Which means it's not viable for them to stay in Canada and only sell to Canadian markets.

Which means nobody's going to be replacing these businesses. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost with no replacement.

The state can't nationalize them, the workers can't take them over, they're just not viable as businesses anymore.

And all those businesses and all the people that work for those businesses pay taxes. Which means we're going to have less and less money to provide services the people who are poor etc

This isn't about giving states our money, this is about us not having any money anymore. I think people need to wake up to the reality of how serious this is

[–] CanadaPlus 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Which means nobody’s going to be replacing these businesses. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs that will be lost with no replacement.

Sort of. Over the long run, it should be replaced with more domestic-focused businesses, or maybe even overseas-focused. Of course, that's not as easy as flipping a switch, everything has to be re-organised. Who knows how quickly it can happen.

The government is trying to help out a bit, with all the project subsidies and military spending.

[–] Foxer@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 hours ago

Unfortunately due to the trade barriers we have between provinces it's unlikely that it would be replaced by local consumption. In fact even if there were no trade barriers in Canada it would be tough but the way things are there's no chance.

This was something carney talked about during the election and promised he would work on, he held one meeting with the provinces to see about coming to an agreement and then he just abandoned it. If he had spent as much time working with the provinces as he has with other countries we would probably be further ahead

The government has done nothing to move projects forward unfortunately. The closest that come is this supposed pipeline project but they're now talking about using government money which completely defeats the purpose. We can't borrow enough money to support an economy, sooner or later that leads to a collapse

Unless something radically changes in the near future as far as our direction we will face severe economic hardship and it will be extremely difficult to recover. We are not building maybe bill as he promised, we have not eliminated into provincial trade is he suggested, and our businesses are fleeing to the states along with our investment, I think we're into our 6th street quarter of business investment loss in Canada having already completed five? That predates Trump and we can't be losing business investment like that

We're in real trouble. It's not short-term trouble our infrastructure for providing economic growth is eroding at an enormous rate and it is insanely hard to replace that once it's gone

[–] puppinstuff@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

They can do their worst. I didn’t buy so much as a US sweet potato from the grocery store this week. Sure as hell isn’t going to be a car or an appliance from any company moving out of Canada.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca -5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Sure bud, your stand on potatoes is going to save the CDN manufacturing sector.

[–] puppinstuff@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

One petty disgruntled consumer is weak. Millions of them, not so weak.

[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

So you mean we can nationalize a bunch of factories and turn them over to worker owned and managed cooperatives?

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And how sell what where to whom, exactly? The problem isn't the production, its the sales

Canada should yo much more to export products to other countries than the US

[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Maybe something like this: https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2026-01-29-post-american-canada-ottawa-0a9df32d23f7

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 day ago

And make what? Sandals and snow shovels?

[–] GodofLies@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Are we in the 'find out' stage of NAFTA/CUSMA agreement now - especially now it's in its sunset stage? Sure starting to look like it. Canada's own failing to increase inter-provincial trade, international trade, and encourage domestic expansion is coming back to bite. Decades of selling out Canadian companies to the US, mergers of domestic companies, and privatisation of crown corps (funny how we don't even own our own rail) is going to make the transition all bite extra hard.

[–] Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Does this mean tariffs worked

[–] CanadaPlus 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Depends what you're looking for. The same shit is happening in the other direction, with American businesses no longer able to operate.

In the end we'll all be poorer. Partly do to losing the saving involved in sharing things, partly due to lost growth while we're busy re-arranging. But yes, the tariffs are working to reduce imports to the US.

[–] anarchy79@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Hey you guys! Bad Things will happen if you keep not giving us your money! We really mean it, really Bad!

Art of the deal, motherfuckers. Deal with that!

[–] mereo@piefed.ca 38 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

This is why I support Carney's agenda of diversifying our economy and our partners. These companies are moving to the U.S. because, currently, Canada predominantly does business with the U.S., so these U.S. companies see tariffs as an obstacle to their business.

However, when Canada has exports predominantly in the rest of the world, companies will stop moving.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Export what. Diversify what.

Canada is the bottom of the barrel for industry R&D, we have been since the 1960s. All we do is dig shit out of a hole to feed jobs abroad.

Mark Carney is not going to pull a new industry out of his ass.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 days ago (5 children)

Okay but all our other neighbors are an ocean away. This is hard mode.

[–] ThuggyG@piefed.ca 27 points 3 days ago

Yes but the alternative is to become hostage to a hostile nation.

You cave now and they will do it again. We also have to stop pretending these are Canadian firms leaving. We’ve allowed many of our manufacturing companies to become subsidiaries of foreign companies.

[–] Knoxvomica@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 days ago

I mean, same with China for the most part? And yet they manage to be an industrial powerhouse. Shipping is not impossible.

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 days ago

We also are their biggest export market. If we start "eating our own dog food" then those overseas exports will be enough to make up most of the difference, but we have to double down on the effort to build and buy anything but American.

[–] Greg@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

We also have a land border with Denmark

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Lot of international trade possibilities on Hans Island?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

I hear they like poutine.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 7 points 3 days ago

Historically, there's been a bit of a whiskey trade on the Denmark-Canada land border.

[–] Greg@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

We probably need to build a pipeline over the border

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

JFC..consult a globe.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

thats-the-joke.gif

[–] saigot@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

Yeah but also a lot of countries are looking to diversify away from the us who is just as far from those potential partners.

[–] anarchy79@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

All I hear is the boycott is working just fine!

[–] rxbudian@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If they move the machines to the US, wouldn't they get ta tariff-ed?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No, they are not selling them in the US.

[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

They're also not making "Peoples Cars" anymore either. They're making luxury fuck you got mine mobiles.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

get ready for vehicle quality to go down. american plants pretty much always make the worst parts.

hell, I'm aware of one situation right now where an OEM is knowingly assembling something incorrectly because the product design is shit. instead of fixing it, they're just making the parts pass the inspection, while most definitely not making good parts.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago

I can believe it, the Chrysler Hatchback on a model way back had a built in rubber seal molded to the plastic trim. They spec'd materials that don't stick to each other so the seal would just peel off. Instead or changing materials they made it sawtoothed like nubs to hold the seal in place mechanically... But I'm sure that leaked after a while

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca -3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

get ready for vehicle quality to go down

L O L

What's the name of that truck built in Canada that isn't shit again?

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

do you have any experience in the industry?

if not, fuck off

[–] Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca 15 points 3 days ago (3 children)

In some ways I don't blame the companies. That is the business game. However another side of that is that when a company leaves, another company can replace it. It creates opportunity for new Canadian companies to be started. As Canadians, we need to be aware of the companies that leave, stop doing any business with them, build and support new Canadian companies and if that doesn't happen, buy from China or Europe or South America. Yes it will cost Canadian consumers more in the short term but buying from Americans enslaves us over the long term. We have to cut our ties. NAFTA wasn't a boon for Canada, it was a boon for the US. We can choose to support Canada by not buying American.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The reality is when NAFTA was originally signed, hundreds of US companies shut down and moved across the border. Why? Same reason they won't move back, paying workers on a lower dollar value and not having to pay US medical insurance.

From a US perspective, NAFTA/ USMCA did lose them jobs and was not good for the country, however, Republicans and Democrats did nothing to control US medical insurance costs, which makes US labor impossible.

[–] wampus@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Trade isn't really meant to be a win-lose calculation, your take on NAFTA being a win for the USA and not Canada is a fundamentally Trumpian way of looking at it. NAFTA benefited all participating countries.

In terms of Canadian companies filling voids, that's a very optimistic/hopefully outlook. More realistically, Canada's market size is about 1/10th that of the USA, and it's most likely that the Canadian government won't employ things like industry protectionist tactics, such as tariffs on foreign imports. They definitely wouldn't tariff that USA's imports, and not tariff other countries, due to the amount of trade still reliant on the USA -- even if the Canadian govt hits its target of doubling non-USA foreign trade, the USA would still be like >50% of our exports.

I think a slightly different way of looking at this though, is that the companies that are considering moving do not have a sufficient customer base / market in Canada 'alone' to justify their presence. Too many of our businesses get too much of their revenue from USA sales, with little market activity on the Canada side. There are also some manufacturers, particularly in the auto industry, who are getting obliterated by the automation/efficiency of Chinese companies already, who are using the trade fiasco as an excuse -- similar to tech companies using AI as an excuse to trim bloat.

[–] Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yea but we're telling each other to not implement automation and Ai. So take that China. We have so many groups on western internet telling each other that these technologies are evil. So at least we have morals given to us by these anonymous totally not Chinese backed digital groups

[–] CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If an established company decides they can't make money in Canada, it would be doubly true for a new company.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 day ago (2 children)

But what if they are only deciding to increase profits beyond the already obscene profits they already make?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Auto sector makes pretty thin margins.

[–] Canconda@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

*thin margins on big numbers with all but guaranteed returns.

[–] CanIFishHere@lemmy.ca -3 points 1 day ago

You must think it's easy to run a multi-national company and just anyone can do it. It is not.

[–] CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Not exposed to Tarrifs for the US, just a fascist lawless kakistocracy when rights and rules don't exist. You won't be selling to the rest of the world as counter tarrifs settle. If you are selling only to the US, move. If you have such a poor opinion of a rules based civilization, I don't want you here anyways. We will be busy enough making things for ourselves and our allies.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Name one thing Canada makes as a finished product Europe will buy. 100% chance whatever you have in mind is not made here.

[–] CapuccinoCoretto@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Airplanes (Bombardier), mining equipment, Military Equipment, finished metals etc...

There is room to grow because whatever the EU bought from the US or Russia, that Canada can make, should be included. Lots of opportunity both ways.

[–] Kichae@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 days ago

Businesses love fascist, lawless kakistocracies up until they find themselves neglecting their protection payments.