Canada's homebuilding industry feeling strain of U.S. tariffs on costs, supply chain

Edmonton Journal

10 hours ago

As a tariff storm blew in from south of the border earlier this year, many industries in Canada, including the home building sector, feared the unknown ahead of them.
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With stakeholders already keenly aware of the need to rapidly scale up housing supply and improve Canada's housing affordability gap, blanket tariffs and more targeted material-specific levies meant additional unwelcome obstacles to overcome.
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That included a potential need to slow down the pace of construction as supply chains shifted and key construction parts became more expensive.
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'It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly is the cost impact, but we certainly can say that there is an impact in terms of business confidence and … having materials when they need them in a timely manner.'
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About six months after U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House, many in the home construction sector say unpredictability persists around the cost and timing of obtaining the materials they need.
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For Geranium, that's meant having to pivot on the fly when it comes to the supply chains it's long relied on.
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Shindruk said the firm is now increasingly sourcing materials made in Canada, such as brick and stone, and doubling down on products typically imported from other countries besides the U.S. That includes steel, which it sources from countries including South Korea, Portugal and China — allowing it to avoid surtaxes on American steel in response to Trump's tariffs.
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But she said some materials simply can't be replicated in domestic or other international markets. For instance, a component in the layered glass windows used by Geranium continues to be sourced from the U.S. due to patent issues. The company has essentially decided to eat the extra costs.
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'It's not like switching on a switch and all of a sudden those materials that used to be sourced from the U.S, which are significant, can now be produced in Canada,' she said.
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'Where that's not realistic, then items are continuing to be sourced from the U.S. and (we're) paying the tariff.'
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Among products hit hardest by the trade war, Canadian Home Builders' Association CEO Kevin Lee highlighted appliances, interior doors and carpeting.
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In some cases, he said builders have looked for substitutions to their typical input materials.