The trade war between the United States and Canada has the City of Windsor examining several projects and how any tariffs could impact the final price.
Mayor Drew Dilkens says as they receive tenders for a project, before it gets to city council to be voted on as an awarded project, they need to make sure the vendors who submitted can cover any tariff increases in the price.
"If you look at projects like Banwell Road, which we anticipate will cost upwards of $85 million. We have $50 million in recovery from the Province of Ontario, but all of the inputs that go into projects like that, we're now having to go through and figure out what those inputs are that can't be sourced from Canada, or if they are sourced from Canada, the price may be higher, so we have to adjust the budget," he says.
The city's 2025 budget has earmarked $312.7 million in spending on capital projects, which includes $22.5 million on an interchange at Banwell Road and E.C. Row Expressway, right near the NextStar Energy electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant, over $34 million on improvements to Lauzon Parkway and Cabana Road East, and nearly $15 million for work on the Provincial Road and Division Road corridors.
Dilkens says it's requiring a lot more work on the back end for all of the capital projects in a year where we approved a record capital budget with a lot of spending to deal with the growth in the city and adjust for the growth that's coming in the Sandwich South area.
"Because the ping pong ball keeps moving, we're never really certain what we're trying to figure out at the end of the day," he says. "Tomorrow, you could have steel and aluminium tariffs gone. We stopped that batch of work and started looking at the next project that's coming, and would there be any risk in those projects? We are trying to derisk all of the projects where possible."
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump hit all imported steel and aluminium with 25 per cent tariffs, while Canada and the European Union announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminium, and other products.
The Border Mayors Alliance, which is chaired by Dilkens, issued a letter Wednesday in response to the tariffs on steel and aluminium, stating, "It will affect an industry deeply integrated in cross-border trade and vital to the economies of many of our border communities."
The letter from the nearly 40 mayors across Canada also took aim at the inconsistencies with tariffs from U.S. President Trump, noting, "The uncertainty has tangible and detrimental effects on the livelihoods of our families on both sides of the border. In this time we must have clarity, or we simply cannot act."
Dilkens says the border mayors alliance has been meeting with mayors on the other side of the border to try and get allies and friends to help tell the story with facts.
He met with the mayor of Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday and the mayor of Warren, Michigan on Wednesday.
Please see our statement on the impact of the recently imposed 25% steel and aluminum tariffs. pic.twitter.com/57oHisfpmF
— Border Mayors Alliance (@BorderMayors) March 12, 2025