Mayor Parrish hosts Partners in Trade roundtable to support local businesses in Mississauga amid tariff challenges

Today, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish hosted the inaugural Partners in Trade roundtable, bringing together business leaders from Mississauga’s key growth sectors – life sciences, advanced manufacturing (including automotive and aerospace), and technology. The discussions focused on the impacts of American tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs on local businesses and explored actionable ways the City can provide meaningful support during this challenging period.

Participants discussed opportunities for City-led initiatives and alignment with federal and provincial governments as part of the Team Canada approach. The insights gained from the roundtable will directly inform the City’s broader response plan, Mississauga Partners in Trade, aimed at strengthening economic resilience, safeguarding jobs, and enhancing competitiveness for the future.

The discussions highlighted the importance of maintaining cross-border relationships and dialogue, advocating for federal and provincial support, and streamlining local processes to better support businesses. Participants emphasized the need for collaboration between governments, businesses, and communities to enhance competitiveness and drive economic growth, identifying key areas for advocacy such as financial support for impacted businesses through provincial and federal programs, addressing interprovincial trade barriers, and ensuring alignment across all levels of government under the Team Canada approach. Mayor Parrish reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring Mississauga businesses are heard and advocated for on behalf of the City.

The roundtable marks the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between the City and its business community, reaffirming Mississauga’s commitment to being a strong partner in fostering a resilient local economy.

Mississauga Quick Facts

• Mississauga is Ontario’s second-largest economy, producing $61 billion in goods and services annually.
• More than 100,000 businesses call Mississauga home, generating more than 500,000 jobs.
• The US administration has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum products and goods non-compliant with CUSMA. On April 2, the administration intends to introduce additional tariffs. Federal and Provincial responses have targeted counter-tariffs, restrictions on US access to procurement opportunities and pulling US products off retail shelves.
• Canadian counter-tariffs are currently applied to a range of U.S. goods including steel, aluminum, computers, sports equipment, cast-iron products, orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, and certain paper products. Full details can be found here.
• Mississauga’s economy is highly integrated with the U.S.: More than 450 US-based multinational companies have a presence in Mississauga and 126 Mississauga-based Canadian multinationals have operations in the U.S.
• The City estimates that more than 89,000 jobs in Mississauga directly support exports to the US (18 per cent of total employment), which is higher than in Ontario overall (13 per cent of total employment supporting exports to the US). Manufacturing (52,300 jobs), Wholesale Trade (10,700 jobs), and Transportation and Warehousing (8,700 jobs) industries account for 80 per cent of the jobs in Mississauga that support exports to the U.S.
• Using the Canadian Importers Database, the City estimates that there are 1,746 major importers of U.S. products in Mississauga. Of Canada’s 10 largest cities, this is the second highest number of major importers from the U.S. (Toronto is the highest, with 2,841 major U.S. importers). Note: Major importers are the businesses which collectively account for up to 80 per cent of all imports of a specific product or a selected city.

Quotes

“Mississauga is Ontario’s second-largest economy and home to more than 100,000 businesses employing more than 500,000 people. These numbers reflect the strength and importance of our City, which makes today’s discussion all the more essential. Partners in Trade is about leveraging our collective expertise and resources to navigate these challenges together and deliver meaningful support where it’s needed most. Now more than ever, it’s important that we remain connected and work collaboratively to support our businesses. The City of Mississauga will continue to advocate for our businesses, ensuring their needs are heard and addressed at all levels of government.”- Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish

Tags

• Economic Development
• Government and Agencies