An Aurora wholesale bakery has put on hold plans to expand its production facility, amid the threat of U.S. tariffs, as March 4 approaches.
Robert Johnson, chief executive officer of Treasure Mills, an Aurora-based wholesale bakery, said he had been working on plans to expand his Aurora production facility by 30,000 square feet, but said those plans are now in flux because of the uncertainty caused by tariffs.
“What I'm spending, and what I'm going to do, is really going to sit until the tariffs are decided,” Johnson said in an interview with AuroraToday.
Johnson already runs a 30,000-square-foot production facility on Englehard Drive, producing a range of baked goods, including the company’s School Safe products.
“Thank God I am highly automated, so I'm able to absorb it better than other companies that are highly labour-oriented in this business,” he said.
“Food is a very competitive marketplace,” he said. “Inflation is going to go through the roof because the cost of food is going to get impacted on both sides of the border massively. It’s a complete shift. It’s like ripping apart and tearing down the entire infrastructure that’s been built up around global free trade for the last 30, 40 years.”
Johnson had previously said the threat of tariffs is putting some contract negotiations with both U.S. and Canadian retailers in “jeopardy.”
“We’ve had meetings already cancelled from retailers because they’re scrambling to figure out how they’re going to deal with it when there’s a 25 per cent tariff coming,” he said. “So, everybody is completely up in the air. A lot of uneasiness everywhere.”
President Donald Trump initially signed an order on Feb. 1 imposing blanket tariffs of 25 per cent on virtually all goods entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, and a reduced 10 per cent tariff on energy exports, set to begin on Feb. 4. But he later "paused" the implementation of those tariffs for 30 days, until March 4.
On Feb. 27, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect on March 4, "as scheduled."
Other businesses are set to fare better. Brittney Megann, who runs Aurora-based social media marketing agency Social & Stilettos, said service businesses like hers are likely to dodge the worst of the impacts from U.S. tariffs.
Megann's company works with several U.S.-based companies and said, if anything, opportunities have increased recently.
“Another really big thing is I thought, maybe if it did affect people in my space, would it be companies like Adobe now having legal responsibility to not work with brands that are outside of the United States? But we haven't seen that either,” she said. “In fact, we've been given more opportunities to get involved.”
Other companies are looking to expand operations in Aurora amid a blossoming "Buy Canada" sentiment.
Newmarket-based environmental food packaging company Eco Guardian announced earlier this week plans to open a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Aurora. The new facility is set to open in the Addison Hall Business Park and will be fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2025.
"This is more than just a facility launch — it's a shift toward self-reliant, sustainable manufacturing in Canada," company president and CEO of Eco Guardian Anil Abrol said in a news release. "We are excited to partner with businesses looking for high-quality, ethically produced packaging that aligns with Canada's commitment to a greener future."