The City of Montreal announced measures to help small and medium-sized businesses cope with the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including access to a $36 million fund.
“We made it through the pandemic, so we know we’re able to get through difficult situations,” Luc Rabouin, new leader of Projet Montréal and head of economic development on the city’s executive committee, told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
The news comes as Trump started outlining his tariff program Wednesday at 4 p.m. He announced “retaliatory” tariffs on imports coming from dozens of countries — but the White House said there will be no more levies applied to Canada than those previously announced.
Trump said however that he is going ahead with a 25 per cent tariff on “all foreign-made” automobiles as of midnight Wednesday.
Rabouin said the city’s business-support network, PME MTL, will provide $36 million to businesses that meet specific criteria and demonstrate that they will be affected by tariffs.
He also declared that businesses that have a loan with the network will have a six-month grace period on loans owned to the city’s fund.
“We give them time to breathe,” said Rabouin.
The city made the announcement at Lambert & Fils, a company in Montreal that makes high-end lighting fixtures.
Ahead of Trump’s announcement, Christine Charette, director of human resources and administration, said she expected tariffs to have a “huge impact” on sales as American clients account for almost 50 per cent them.
“Any help we can get just to get us through this kind of crisis phase is really important for us,” said Charette.
“We just need some financial help just to get through the storm.”
Rabouin also said that the city will prioritize local businesses whenever it can.
Last month, Quebec’s Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest announced a new regulation allowing cities to impose penalties of up to 25 per cent on U.S. companies bidding on municipal contracts.
New measures ‘nothing but rehash,’ says opposition
Rabouin’s measures did not receive unanimous approval in Montreal, particularly from the opposition at city hall.
“The measures announced by Projet Montréal leader Luc Rabouin in response to the tariff attacks are nothing but rehash,” said Julien Hénault-Ratelle, Ensemble Montréal’s economic development spokesperson, in a statement.
“There’s nothing new under the sun. These are recycled envelopes, with no new money.”
According to Rabouin, if the city sees that businesses need more money, it will provide more.
He also encouraged entrepreneurs to contact one of PME MTL’s offices if they had any questions and consumers to support businesses by buying local.
