The City of Dryden is taking a Buy-Ontario and Canada approach in the procurement process of all its good and services.
CAO Roger Nesbitt issued a news release March 11 indicating it’s throwing its support behind the efforts of “Team Canada to fight back against President Trump and his administration” in response to Washington’s trade war and threats to Canadian sovereignty.
“This action is not something that municipal leadership had ever envisioned having to take, but the threat now coming from Canada’s long-time ally and friend to the south warrants a national response,” said Nesbitt in the release.
The northwestern Ontario municipality and pulp mill town is among a growing list of municipalities, big and small, that have taken a patriotic stand against the tariff action launched by the U.S. government and the Trump administration's threats to cripple the Canadian economy.
The Ontario government is banning U.S. firms from its procurement processes in bidding on any provincial infrastructure projects.
“We are proud Canadians and refuse to stand by and be bullied and disrespected in the way that the White House administration and President Trump seem to think they can get away with," said Nesbitt in the release. "We stand together against this direct attack on our economy and to Canadian sovereignty."
This move didn’t involve a resolution of council in the form of a procurement bylaw.
“Should tariffs linger,” Nesbitt told Northern Ontario Business, “actions will be taken to modify existing bylaw with appropriate changes.”
The approach is “operational in nature” with municipal staff scrutinizing where products and services are manufactured or originate from, “down to minor parts and consumables used within the organization.”
Nesbitt said there are currently no American firms involved or bidding on current or planned municipal infrastructure projects.
Premier Doug Ford hinted at the real possibility of providing stimulus funding — similar to the support offered during the pandemic — to protect Ontario's economy and jobs.
Nesbitt said Dryden is a key community in northwestern Ontario, catering to the forestry and mining sector and serving as an electrical distribution hub for the region. Less than an hour’s drive to the east, the Wabigoon-Ignace area has been selected as the site for a future underground nuclear waste repository.
He said any investment made in the city services and infrastructure “will aid these sectors in support current and future regional operations. This helps not only Dryden weather this storm but helps the province and country weather it as well.”
