A recent poll by KPMG that surveyed 602 Canadian business leaders between February 13 and 28, including 154 CEOs in the manufacturing industry, shows that more than half of manufacturers feel they can weather the trade war for more than a year, with three-quarters of respondents saying that expanding their Canadian clients will be key to this survival.
Domestic manufacturers would like to see interprovincial barriers removed, as would Canadian consumers. The report also noted that 86 percent of Canadian manufacturing leaders feel that it is high time to reduce reliance on the United States.
“Indeed, all but five percent could redirect a portion of sales to domestic customers,” says Alison Glober, a management consulting partner and KPMG in Canada’s national manufacturing sector. “The industry proved during COVID that they can handle adversity and pivot. They will need the same resolve today and evaluate all options, including expanding into new global markets, evaluating if it makes sense to shift production to the U.S., undertaking a strategic review of operations, identifying cost reductions, and finding ways to boost efficiency and productivity.”
