TORONTO— The Toronto Region Board of Trade has released a new paper, The Steel Imperative: Unlocking Our Competitive Advantage in a Changing World, urging federal and provincial governments to act swiftly to protect Canada’s steel industry by:
- Implementing a domestic steel procurement mandate
- Onshoring and expanding domestic production value chains
- Retooling for competitiveness and upskilling the workforce
The program will secure jobs, stabilize prices, and ensure Ontario-made steel powers the next decade of industrial growth and nation-building calibre infrastructure.
Ontario’s steel sector is under mounting pressure from new U.S. tariffs, cheap offshore imports, and delayed domestic investment, forces that threaten tens of thousands of jobs and weaken manufacturing competitiveness. Yet even as these pressures grow, public demand for steel is skyrocketing. Billions in new infrastructure and energy projects are creating both a challenge and an opportunity for renewal.
“Ontario can’t afford to let its steel industry sink under a wave of U.S. tariffs,” said Giles Gherson, President & CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. “Ontario steel is core to our manufacturing base and the high-value jobs that go with it. This is our moment for industrial renewal, investing in new capacity, advanced technologies and world-beating quality for the next generation. Canadian steel has huge potential in energy, transit, housing and defense projects.”
The recommended Strategic Steel Procurement Program would forecast demand, utilize forward contracts for Ontario steel products, maintain a strategic steel reserve and coordinate with the federal government on energy and defense procurement.
The report estimates that such a program could save millions of dollars from bulk purchases across Ontario’s $200 billion infrastructure pipeline, and Canada’s $630 billion infrastructure pipeline, while safeguarding domestic jobs and supply chains.
Key Stats:
- As of 2024, Canada’s steel industry produced 12.3 million tonnes of steel, employed more than 23,000 people directly, and supported over 100,000 indirect jobs, contributing $4.2 billion to national GDP
- Canada produces 12.3 M tonnes of steel, exports 6.4 M Tonnes, imports 8.25M tonnes, equating to an import surplus of 1.85M tonnes
- The United States has imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum at a rate of 50%, with additional tariffs on 407 derivative products and counting.
- 504 major projects under construction or planned over the next ten years in Canada with a combined potential capital value of $632.6 billion.
“Ontario can’t afford to let its steel industry sink under a wave of U.S. tariffs. Ontario steel is core to our manufacturing base and the high-value jobs that go with it. This is our moment for industrial renewal, investing in new capacity, advanced technologies and world-beating quality for the next generation. Canadian steel has huge potential in energy, transit, housing and defense projects.”
— Giles Gherson, President & CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade
The Toronto Region Board of Trade is one of the largest and most influential business chambers in North America and is a catalyst for the region’s economic agenda. We pursue policy change to drive the growth and competitiveness of the Toronto region and facilitate market opportunities with programs, partnerships and connections to help our members succeed – domestically and internationally.
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