Canadian entrepreneur Wes Love has publicly voiced his concerns about the current trade atmosphere with the United States. He likes to remind listeners that businesses crave certainty in order to flourish. He continues to be hopeful about possible agreements that will lead to a ceasefire. He cautions that longer term uncertainty might lead to a catastrophic interruption in services.
Love Stout’s company—which employs about 400 people—depends on exporting 90 percent of their products to the U.S. He cautioned that if the current trade pattern persists for two to three years, it will be “really, really difficult” for his company and others in similar situations. He shared how companies are successfully navigating today’s challenges, as long as U.S. trade policies stay predictable.
In a June interview with the BBC, Love added to that by focusing on how bad trade policy uncertainty is. He went on to describe how this has created paralysis in the market. He remarked, “What has been creating indecision in the market is people don’t know which way this is going to go.” He underscored the critical nature of stability, particularly for small businesses, by stating, “As far as our understanding goes, not a lot of businesses are thinking about these long-term investments right now. It just, they just are not in the mindset.”
As we have seen here in Canada, they have been mostly feeling the harmful effects of the growing U.S.–China trade war. The economy increased moderately by 0.8 percent between January 1 and March 31 of 2025. It contracted 0.1% in April. This lull, in turn, is in large measure due to the uncertainty caused by tariffs and the general state of trade relations with the U.S.
The situation escalated when former President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on most Canadian imports on February 1, 2025. While he suspended these tariffs back on March 8—significantly raising the metals tariff to 50% this month! This ping-pong approach to U.S. trade policy has resulted in an unpredictable climate for Canadian companies.
As to whether Canadian companies themselves have been hurt by these tariff reversals, Love says they have indeed suffered deep harms as a result. He expressed frustration at how businesses are left in the dark about future regulations, stating, “Give us a set of rules and leave them alone and let us operate within those rules.” He likens the trade situation to a sport where rules must remain constant to ensure fair play: “It’s like sport, right? Everybody goes onto the field and you play to a set of rules, but you don’t change the rules in the middle of the game.”
The dependency of our Canadian neighbors on trade with the U.S. is major — about 75 percent of Canada’s exports go south. The impact of this uncertainty is palpable as over one third (32%) of Canadian companies have postponed significant investments and major capital expenditures. Love’s concerns are emblematic of a wider fear among entrepreneurs that uncertainty is having a profoundly negative effect on their ability to conduct business.
Sam Gupta, another small business owner, reiterated similar fears. He indicated that small businesses are particularly vulnerable to indecision, stating, “And in small businesses, indecision is killer.” Gupta fears that if this uncertainty persists for an extended period, it could lead to dire consequences for many companies: “The biggest fear that we all have right now is, I don’t know how long this is going to go. Even if it’s going to be six months, a year, 18 months, we can still take it. If this state of affairs pulls out for two to three years, that’s going to be just impossibly hard. If so, there are enormous challenges in store.
Gupta highlighted that many businesses feel invisible in this trade conversation: “We are not even in the conversation. We don’t exist.” This sentiment highlights the broader barriers that smaller businesses encounter when trying to cut through the noise of international trade’s complexities.
Even with these hurdles, Love is optimistic about how his company is learning to pivot. He expressed confidence in his workforce’s entrepreneurial spirit: “We’re entrepreneurs. We are full of piss and vinegar, as they would say.” His outlook comes at a time when many Canadian business leaders are clearly intent on focusing on what they can control and building success despite continued uncertainty.
The large, punitive nature of the trade war has hurt small businesses. Canadian small businesses bear a disproportionate cost from the trade war. Love, president of the International Trade Administration, termed the tariffs “totally punitive.” He noted that all these tariffs are greater than what his company pays on hydro and gas combined annually. This added economic pressure makes the demand for clear, fair, and consistent trade policies all the more pressing.