Talent Trumps Tariffs: Canada's Strategic Shield Against US Trade Barriers
- Carly L'Henaff
- Jun 24
- 4 min read
At the Centre for Newcomers, we champion immigration as a powerful tool that benefits both newcomers and Canada as a whole. Effective and inclusive immigration pathways are essential for addressing Canada’s economic and labor challenges, fostering seamless newcomer integration, and supporting the nation’s long-term prosperity. However, the strained Canada-US relationship and ongoing trade tensions cast uncertainty over our current strategies for economic growth and international collaboration. In recent years Canada has been falling short in fully providing for its newcomers and securing its future success. As the country grapples with US tariffs and trade uncertainties, business leaders, policymakers, and communities must recognize and harness immigrant talent as a vital resource to overcome these hurdles and strengthen Canada's economic resilience.
Below is a guest blog authored by CFN Volunteer Carly L'Henaff. With an impressive 15-year career at Cenovus Energy and her current role with Pathways Alliance, Carly brings a wealth of experience and insight to the table. Her unique background provides her with a clear and informed perspective on the economic impacts affecting Calgary and communities across Canada.
- David Anthony Hohol
Making connections, bridging cultural gaps and growing local business: Immigrations role in sheltering the Canadian economy from tariffs
by Carly L'Henaff, CFN Volunteer & Senior Advisor at Pathways Alliance
When it comes to investing, you’d be hard-pressed to find a financial advisor who’d recommend putting three quarters of your money into a single company or industry. This then begs the question, why has Canada historically put almost all of its eggs into one economic basket – the United States? In 2024, over 75% of Canada’s exports went to the United States. For an open economy like ours, exports have a huge impact on the health of our local economy, making us overly exposed to instability in other markets. With tariffs being the new reality, the case for diversifying our export markets seems obvious. And tapping into Canada’s immigrant population stands to be wealth of opportunity as we look to do so.
Research indicates that exporters with diversified markets sell 20% higher volumes. In fact, 51% of Canada’s total export value is generated by the 6% of our exporters who sell to at least 10 different markets. Canada has 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries around the world. These agreements provide measurable businesses advantages like lowering costs, providing access to new customers, improving access to supply chains and increasing overall business resiliency. When it comes to diversifying markets, newcomers to Canada hold valuable connections and expertise.
Think of your own business network and imagine that multiplied on a global scale. Many within the immigrant population have expansive networks back home, holding the potential to connect Canadian businesses with new partners, customers and investors. Not only that, but many immigrants are also already seasoned entrepreneurs with the business savvy needed to make new commercial partnerships. Canada is home to over 800,000 self-employed immigrants, and in Q1 of 2024, almost 25% of the private-sector businesses in Canada were majority owned by an immigrant to Canada.
While there is significant upside, expanding into global markets is not without its challenges. Business happens differently around the world, and the rules of engagement can be drastically different from one country to the next. Major business deals may happen over WhatsApp in some countries while others may take place in someone’s family home over a meal. The email-centric culture of North America doesn’t always translate well into other countries, and you need the cultural know-how to cultivate and maintain relationships to be successful in global business. This is where immigrants can be invaluable: acting as cultural translators and building bridges between Canada and other nations. Not to mention the regional business acumen they bring to the table, with the potential to help navigate the different risks and opportunities in foreign markets.
As we look inward to domestic businesses, skilled labour will be critical in enabling expansion. In 2023, immigrants represented 28.9% of the Canadian labour force. Beyond hiring for new roles, this can also be an important opportunity to re-evaluate the skillset that exists amongst immigrant populations and reduce underutilization where possible and re-skill or up-skill where there are gaps.
To build a more resilient and prosperous future, Canada must reimagine the way it does business. Our historical over-reliance on a single export partner has made us vulnerable, but within our borders lies a powerful, often underleveraged asset: our immigrant population. These individuals bring not only skills and labour, but also international networks, entrepreneurial drive, and cultural fluency that can unlock new global markets and partnerships. By embracing this potential and strategically aligning it with our trade ambitions, Canada can diversify its economic footprint, strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive global landscape, and build an economy that is both inclusive and future ready.
Senior Advisor, Content at Pathways Alliance
Centre for Newcomers Volunteer
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