Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke is in Washington, D.C. today and Friday to meet with her counterparts from Mexico, the United States and Canada for a "North American Mayors Summit" toward preparing a joint statement on behalf of mayors of the three countries concerning the threat tariffs pose to their respective cities.
She spoke with the Now-Leader on Thursday morning before the invitation-only meeting got underway and said she's "kind of embargoed right now. I don't have anything I can tell you yet.
"I think what the real reason for this is for the number of us to get together and to talk about the impact of tariffs for everyone, for Canadian cities, American cities and for the Mexican cities. It's really an opportunity for us to have that dialogue, to show a united front from people that are the first, I really think cities will feel it first and worst and we know what our residents are going through," Locke explained, "and so it's to share that information and then show a united front.
"It's going to be negative impacts right across the board. There will be a joint statement at the end of it all."
Ultimately, she anticipates it will generate media attention "just to let the national administration know that there is concern from their local governments as well. These aren't just Democrats, there's also Republicans that are going to be there and an independent mayor as well."
Only a small number of Canadian mayors are involved, she said, "I think it's five or six," including the mayors of Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and Regina. She is the lone mayor from B.C.
The president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Rebecca Bligh, is from B.C. and is at the summit. She's also a Vancouver city councillor.
Locke is a member of the Border Mayors Alliance formed in January in an effort to safeguard Surrey's economic interests and well-being of local businesses against President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs. Surrey is Canada's only city with two land border crossings.
More than 20 per cent of Surrey businesses have direct trade ties with the United States, representing roughly $2.8 billion in cross-border commerce each year.
The BMA is comprised of mayors from more than 20 Canadian cities and towns situated along the border.
There are 113 importing and exporting businesses operating in Surrey as well as 900 transportation and warehousing companies that stand to be adversely affected by the tariffs. Surrey's manufacturing sector – comprised of roughly 960 businesses – employs more than 23,500 workers.
Locke has expressed "huge concern" about local businesses picking up stakes and moving south of the border.
"They're not doing it because they want to leave Canada, they're doing it because they feel they must do it for the fiscal reality that they're in right now. That's concerning, because once people start to leave you never know how that's going to end up."
"It's not just that they're leaving but they're opening up both sides of the border. Some of them are staying in Surrey but some of them are opening up plants in Washington State. I talked to three last week and one that's really concerning. I just worry because we start to lose them a little bit, and before you know it..."
Locke noted that the cost of serviced industrial land in Surrey is between $5 million and $7 million an acre whereas in Washington State "it's about" $500,000. "The numbers just are incredibly different."
