B.C. businesses brace for damage on both fronts of Canada-U.S. trade war

Brandon Fry (director of engineering) and Darcy Lane (director of sales) at Revival Stillworks, a small engineering and fabricating firm in Sidney on Vancouver Island that makes distillery equipment for craft distillers. They are bracing for tariff impacts in Canada's escalating trade war with the U.S.

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Specialty manufacturer Revival Stillworks on Vancouver Island is bracing for potential hits on both fronts of Canada’s escalating trade war with the U.S.

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They know U.S. sales of the bespoke distillery equipment they fabricate at a facility in Sidney will be subject to President Donald Trump’s Section 338 tariffs that came into effect Saturday. The U.S. is about half of the company’s market.

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Company executive Darcy Lane is working to confirm that some of the equipment they buy from south of the border will be hit by Canadian counter tariffs announced Tuesday.

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“I’m sure it will be, because I saw there’s electronics that are included,” said Lane, who is director of sales and business development at Revival.

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Federal Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the schedule of counter tariffs in Ottawa on Tuesday, 15 to 50 per cent levies on roughly $28 billion in U.S. imports, corresponding with the $28 billion hit to Canadian exports.

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Canada’s counter tariffs were crafted to hit U.S. products where local consumers have alternatives. The goal is to level the playing field for Canadian industries and businesses subject to U.S. tariffs.

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But Revival took a blow to its U.S. sales in the first round of tariffs launched by Trump in 2025 when American customers cancelled orders, Canadian customers held off on purchases due to the uncertainty, and the company had to lay off some staff.

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Lane said Revival had almost built back its sales pipeline, and it has millions of dollars worth of projects in the works.

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“To our U.S. customers, there’s not much we can do (except) say, ‘Hey, look guys, you know we would love to work with you. We’re pretty optimistic that our governments are going to work this out,'” Lane added.

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And if they are thinking of cancelling purchases, “just buy us a bit more time, and we’re hoping our governments can work it out. ”

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At home, Lane said Revival will be looking for more straightforward financial assistance than the package extended to businesses in 2025 that the company didn’t qualify for.

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Ottawa, on Tuesday, unveiled $7.5 billion in spending on support programs to help businesses and workers weather tariff impacts. It includes $1.5 billion to shore up its regional tariff response initiative for small and medium businesses administered under a strategic response fund.

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The problem with that support program when it was first introduced is that it came with thresholds of minimum revenue of $2 million or having at least 10 employees to qualify, according to Ryan Mitton, B.C. director of legislative affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.