Tariffs are putting pressure on businesses across industries, from retail and restaurants to farming and construction, driving up costs and forcing tough choices in the Comox Valley.
From local retailers to manufacturers, rising import costs are rippling through the community, squeezing small businesses that are already battling high costs and tight margins.
Small businesses in the Comox Valley are facing tough decisions. Higher costs on imported goods mean raising prices, cutting expenses, or finding alternative suppliers. Farmers, too, are impacted, as rising expenses for equipment and supplies put pressure on local food production.
We contacted businesses across the Comox Valley, from Courtenay to Cumberland, to hear how tariffs are influencing their operations, pricing, and ability to stay competitive.
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Comox
Rad Brewing Company
Co-owner Chris Morrison says the small batch brewery located in the Comox Centre Mall distributes their cans locally to Comox Valley restaurants and liquor stores, but adds costs are always at the top of mind.
"We have been working with our aluminum can suppliers to see how our costs might change, especially with the ever-changing tariff discussions. Luckily, our supplier has been through this issue before, and is ready to work with other global companies who can basically keep our costs stable."
Morrison notes that means good news for those purchasing cans, as costs should stay the same.
As the newest brewery in the Comox Valley, growth has been moving in the right direction. Within the last six months, Rad has redone its menu and brought in its canning machine.
"I really believe that if you provide a quality offering at the right price, that guests will purposely choose to shop local. We are brewing our beer right in downtown Comox and are 100 per cent locally owned and proud of it."
Castaway Used Books
While Castaway is a second-hand bookstore, owner Dan Kyle doesn't believe he will directly feel the impact of any possible tariffs. His concern, however, is long-term with new books.
"(Our worry) is that new books would not be sold in as large quantities and therefore decrease the number entering the used market. I have seen a few news items on this in the past week, and locally Laughing Oyster Books made a post (about it)."
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Courtenay
Laughing Oyster Bookstore
The Laughing Oyster Bookshop on 5th Street has been in business for more than 50 years. They currently showcase a variety of Canadian authors in store - 2,405 different books sit on their shelves with access to another 117,143 through order. They note the looming 25 per cent tariff on books coming into Canada will be a major barrier to their profits.
“I doubt Canadian literacy is a high priority for American Republicans so there is clearly no benefit to this uninformed and reckless government proposal. I urge Canadians to remind our government not to sabotage our own culture and our own economy, just because our neighbours are doing it,” said Hollis Linschoten, co-owner.
Books are printed with the price already affixed to the book so there is no way to change the pricing to reflect the higher cost of importing books that are stored in the U.S. after being printed in China, she explained. This means that the extra import costs will have to be absorbed by the bookstore.
“Serving the specific needs of Comox Valley residents is what has kept the Laughing Oyster Bookshop open through the many crises of its almost 51 years in downtown Courtenay,” said Linschoten.
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Cumberland
NOBL Wheels
Cumberland is well-known as a mountain biking community, and that reputation has attracted some big players in the cycling world, one of which is NOBL Wheels, a custom carbon wheel builder that makes world-class components that are tested and proven right in our backyard.
The modern bicycle is a marvel of engineering and technology, made possible due to globalization. Generally, bikes are designed in offices in cities around the world, and component manufacturing is done in mainland China, since the cost of creating these industries and facilities domestically does not make financial sense.
In 2017, a set of frame molds for a full-size run of one bike would cost between $60 and $100,000, with other expenses on top. Domestic manufacturing is done by some small-scale companies, but for the most part, companies rely on the expertise and infrastructure in China.
“If we want to make the best possible product, it’s way more efficient and to do it there,” said Skyler Recknell, marketing co-ordinator for NOBL. “They have just the resources, the equipment and all that kind of stuff already established.”
“The bike industry is quite a global thing,” Recknell added. “Our components come from all over the world. With our premium hub offerings, some are made in the States, some are made in Canada, Switzerland, all of that stuff. Within a wheel build, there’s components from all over, and that’s how we get the highest quality out of it.
“And kind of tariffs and restrictions make things a bit harder and more expensive.”
For years, every NOBL wheelset was built in Cumberland, and shipped all over the world. With good timing for them, NOBL had just finished opening a second factory in Bellingham, Wash., when the current administration took power in the U.S.
“It was obviously a big push to kind of get things rolling there in February with the threat of tariffs coming in,” Recknell said. “Probably about 75 per cent of our sales get shipped to the States, so having that hand-built wheel building facility opening up was super key in supporting that.”
However, that also comes with challenges. NOBL often sends materials and parts across the border, which fall under de minimis rules as “low-value” exports. However, with recent executive orders from the White House, the future of that rule is uncertain.
“That’ll make things a lot more difficult to even transfer like a set of hubs up here if somebody buys one that we don't have in stock here,” Recknell said. “So it's just like those kinds of logistical nightmares are extremely difficult and it's just really hard to know.”
“It's had a huge toll on our staff as well, right? Like what, the first of every month for the last three months has been like there's just something new, right? And you just kind of like you're showing up to the office and you're like what are we going to do? How are we going to navigate this situation? How do we make sure our riders get products?
“We don't have huge margins on our wheel sets because we are building them by hand and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, like a 25 per cent increase on the cost… You're not really making much more money, right?” Recknell said. “We're still going to continue to innovate but we just can't throw all of our eggs in one basket I guess.”
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Comox Valley
Expectations on car tariffs
Sean Mactavish, CEO of Autozen, a Vancouver-based digital platform, discussed the potential effects that the 25 per cent tariffs from the U.S. could have on purchasing cars in the Comox Valley.
Prior to the announcement in February about the expected tariffs, the sentiment around has shifted from optimism towards uncertainty in regards to car pricing. The origin of a make of car may affect the price of a vehicle, but it also goes back to where that model is made.
“Obviously, we’ll have different prices, but specific brands that we might associate with Asian or German manufacturers, like Volkswagen, Toyota or Honda, all make vehicles in parts of America as well. For example, a Toyota Tundra is made in Texas, even though it is a Japanese truck,” said Mactavish. “Most of China’s RAV4’s are made in plants in North America.”
The effect may lead to some car buyers searching out different makes or even switching to used vehicles, with the thought being that those cars would be immune to new tariff effects.
“We’re starting to see some of the prices from consumers go up a little. I think we are just starting to see some of the wholesale prices that you'd see on actions between dealers, those have edged up in the past week. We’re seeing the very beginning of that.”
As for what consumers can expect to see on the prices of new vehicles coming into the Valley, Mactavish estimates anywhere from a $2,000 to $10,000 price jump. But it won’t be immediate as the tariffs will have to be implemented and existing parts will have to be used before the prices change.
“There won’t be an immediate price jump on a car, it’s going to take some time to work through the system.”
