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Twenty-five per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump came down on Canadian steel and aluminum on Wednesday.
Workers in Saskatchewan are saying the tariffs will cause “irreparable harm” to the industry in North America.
“We’re talking about workers, families and communities,” said Patrick Veinot, who represents United Steelworkers union members in Regina and southern Saskatchewan.
“Right now, everything is up in the air and we don’t know what the next move is.”
Patrick Veinot said the union represents more than 800,000 members across North America, and Trump’s trade war is causing uncertainty and suffering. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
He said he wants to see real action from the provincial government to support workers.
“A handful of Sask. Party folks are in a bubble travelling down there and asking Mr. Trump what we can do,” Veinot said.
But without including workers at the table, he said those discussions are “speculative.”
“We (need to sit) at a table and work together and learn together, and we don’t go off in different directions. That needs to happen sooner rather than later,” he said.
“As organized labour, we understand together we’re stronger, and that’s not what’s happening right now in Saskatchewan. There’s silence and we’re left on the outside, wondering what he’s going to bring back.”
Veinto said Saskatchewan steelworkers are directly impacted by the tariffs. In Regina, the Evraz plant sends roughly 30 per cent of its steel product to its sister plant in Portland, Oregon.
“A 25-per-cent tariff on our high-quality steel will cripple the employer, and a 50-per-cent tariff will devastate us, causing further suffering on our membership on both sides of the border,” he said.
“Make no mistake, workers are being used as cannon fodder in President Trump’s foolish economic war.”
Mike Day, the president of the United Steelworkers Union Local 5890, said the economies of both countries will be damaged by the tariffs.
“My message to Donald Trump is to stop,” Day said.
“You’re hurting both the Canadian and American economy, as well as workers in both countries. This is an economic attack on workers. This is going to cause irreparable harm to the steel industry and so many others.”
Day said the tariffs have left workers fearful and anxious, leaving them “wondering who will be in their corner.”
He said he feels like Premier Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party don’t have a plan.
“(There’s) no plan to help workers while we’re in the middle of it, being used as pawns. Saskatchewan workers deserve much better,” Day said.
Day said Trump throwing around the idea of a 50-per-cent tariff on steel imports also caused a lot of fear among steelworkers.
‘The uncertainty of what he’s going to do in the next three hours, tomorrow, next week, you know, let’s stop playing games with workers on both sides of the border,” he said.
If 50-per-cent tariffs were placed on steel and aluminum, Day said there would likely be “cutbacks.”
Sask. NDP want to see action now from provincial government
NDP MLAs Aleana Young and Sally Housser joined the two steelworkers at the event the party organized in Regina, and voiced similar concerns.
“We haven’t seen much from Scott Moe and the Sask. Party,” Young said.
“And what we’ve seen from Scott Moe has been slow. He’s failed to turn up for the biggest moments on multiple occasions, and when he has bothered to show up, the response to this threat has been underwhelming.”
NDP critic Aleana Young speaking with media, alongside Sally Houser (left) and Patrick Veinot (right). (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
Young said she wants to see a better plan in place to protect workers.
“This isn’t a Dollarama. There’s not an Evraz on every street corner in Canada. This is a national asset, and its workers are national assets,” she said.
Young said the NDP aren’t asking for much from the Sask. Party.
“We’ve called for an end to outsourcing Canadian jobs and steel,” she said. “These are really tangible things that the government could be doing, and instead we see them nowhere.”
Housser said there is a growing feeling across Canada of people supporting a pipeline project.
“People understand that it’s for economic sovereignty and energy future that we have to be building here in Canada. We cannot be putting all our eggs in one basket,” she said.
Housser said now is the time for action.
“When we have this national goodwill and a willingness to work together across provinces and with the federal government, we need a premier who is coming to the table and doing that work and not months behind. You’ve got to strike while the iron is hot here,” Housser said.
She said politicians must meet with industry leaders, workers and Indigenous partners to get the job done right.
Premier Scott Moe briefly speaks on steelworkers at SARM convention
Premier Scott Moe addressed the nearly 2,000 delegates at the 2025 Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention in Saskatoon on Wednesday.
When asked if he has any plans in place to assist steelworkers, he said the province is already working with the industry.
“We’re working closely with the steel industry on how we can use the strength of a Saskatchewan economy to actually support the work that they do and keep them employed,” the premier said.
–with files from 980 CJME’s Daniel Reech and 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff