Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke was in Washington, D.C. to meet with her counterparts from Mexico, the United States and Canada for a "North American Mayors Summit" to prepare a joint statement concerning the threat tariffs pose to their respective cities.
She spoke with the Now-Leader before the invitation-only meeting got underway on March 26.
"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."
"These aren't just Democrats, there's also Republicans that are going to be there and an independent mayor as well."
Only a handful of Canadian mayors were involved, including the mayors of Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and Regina. Locke was 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.
Here's the text of the mayors鈥� joint statement, released on Friday:
鈥淎s mayors from Canada, Mexico, and the United States, we urge national leaders to respect existing trade agreements between our three nations. For nearly 30 years, North American trade has provided immense value to all our communities, creating jobs and reducing the cost of living for families. Our nations have no better trading partners, and when we trade with fair rules 鈥� like under the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) 鈥� all three benefit. In 2022, with strong support from the mayors of all three nations, our USMCA countries supported approximately 17 million jobs, marking a 32% increase compared to 2020. The escalation of tariffs only raises costs for businesses, workers, and consumers across North America. Tariffs are taxes that increase the cost of living, drain bank accounts, put supply chains and jobs at risk and disrupt the local businesses that drive the economies in all three nations. Our communities will feel the impact first."
"Our cities and countries need policies that encourage investment and facilitate the efficient movement of goods and services across borders to sustain economic prosperity and job creation," it continues. "We urge national leaders to put our communities first, end the trade war, and keep our countries strong with free and fair trade. Our families, businesses, and workers depend on it.鈥�
Locke is a member of a Border Mayors Alliance that was 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 鈥� comprised of roughly 960 businesses 鈥� 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."
