Aurora council looks set to change its procurement bylaw to focus on Canadian companies in response to the threat of U.S. tariffs.
Mayor Tom Mrakas said Aurora was “leading by example” and called on other municipalities to bring forward similar motions, during a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
“Preferring made-in-Canada products is critical to supporting local businesses, protecting jobs and ensuring Aurora remains economically resilient,” said Mrakas during the meeting.
The proposed changes include upping some procurement thresholds as well as some language changes to prioritize Canadian procurement, including treating procurement from other countries neutrally “so long as treaty partners are acting in good faith,” — defined later in the staff report as “honouring the terms of their trade treaty and not applying additional tariffs.”
Town staff had already been reviewing the town’s procurement bylaws, which were last updated in 2022 and would have recommended increasing thresholds regardless of tariffs. The new thresholds include:
- Upping the low-value procurement threshold from below $25,000 to below $50,000
- Upping the mid-value procurement threshold from $25,000 to less than $50,000, to $50,000 up to less than $100,000
- Upping the open procurement threshold from $50,000 and over to $100,000 and over
While Mrakas acknowledged the town already sources its procurement from Canadian companies, he said the small amount of procurement from U.S.-based companies, multiplied across hundreds of municipalities in the province, adds up.
Of the 2,515 suppliers the town works with, only 18 are from the U.S., representing 0.7 per cent of the town’s total suppliers, the report notes.
Mrakas called on other municipalities in Ontario and across the country to pass similar motions.
Fellow council members voiced support for the motion, during a special council meeting on Tuesday.
“I think we already do a pretty good job in buying Canadian,” said Councillor Gallo. “While this is great and I’m happy we put it forward, the impact to our community — I don’t think our business is going to change very much, because we’re already doing a very good job.”
Councillor Michael Thompson asked about including preferences for Aurora businesses in the town’s procurement bylaw, but town solicitor Patricia De Serio said such stipulations would see the town stray into “discriminatory business practices.”
Councillor Ron Weese asked if the bylaw would need to be changed again if the tariff situation changed. Finance director Rachel Wainwright-van Kessel responded that the rules would apply to procurement from companies based in other countries, not just to American ones.
The president signed executive orders Monday to impose 25 per cent levies on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products, starting March 12.
That came a week after Trump agreed to a month-long pause on his plan to hit Canada with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.
Ultimately, council asked staff to bring a bylaw forward to a future meeting.