The Northerm Windows factory in Kwanlin/Whitehorse, on March 27.Alistair Maitland/The Globe and Mail
Yukon’s biggest manufacturer lives and dies by trade with locales far from its northern home base, and that means U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war, and any Canadian countermeasures, will strike at the heart of its business.
Whitehorse-based Northerm Windows and Doors imports many of the materials for its products – including glass – from the United States, and fills orders for customers in Yukon, Northwest Territories, northern British Columbia and Alaska. It has a subsidiary in Anchorage, where it sends more than 20 per cent of its windows.
Like many Yukon businesses and residents, the company maintains close connections with its Alaskan neighbours in towns like Skagway and Haines. Whitehorse, with a population of about 33,000, is very much a border town, and it faces similar economic threats as cities in the south.
With trade tensions fuelling fears of inflation, consumer confidence is sinking just as construction season is getting under way, Northerm president Joe MacGillivray said recently at the company’s plant on the outskirts of the Yukon capital. It has forced the company to draw up alternative supply chains.
“I mean, the business has been in place for 35 years. We’ve spent a long time establishing what works best for us from a shipping and supply side of things, and this is going to change that for us,” Mr. MacGillivray said.
“Regardless of where the tariffs end up, we’re looking more seriously at other supply chain routes, trying to find more of our supply domestically where it exists and then looking to less expensive alternatives if we need to.”
Joe MacGillivary, president of Northerm Windows in Kwanlin/Whitehorse, on March 27.Alistair Maitland/The Globe and Mail
Northerm is wholly owned by seven Yukon First Nations, and employs more than 60 people. Many of them work at the company’s 55,000-square-foot factory, which it is modernizing with new manufacturing equipment.
The company imports materials such as PVC for its windows from Washington State, and the plant’s location makes that no easy feat – moving the products by barge north along the continent’s coast to Skagway, then on to Whitehorse by truck. It also sources glass from the U.S. Now, Mr. MacGillivray is looking to other sources, such as China.
Historic Whitehorse, situated along the banks of the Yukon River, is one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities. Its surrounding mountains and natural beauty draw new residents from across the country to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle and serenity it affords. Its large Indigenous population shapes the local culture.
But its location far from other population centres makes it heavily reliant on trade, said Mayor Kirk Cameron, who was born and raised in the city. Its population has grown by 37 per cent in the past decade, and that means it is, by necessity, expanding infrastructure and housing as well as commercial and retail space.
“There’s a big demand on all aspects of what it is that keeps a community healthy while in growth. And where are all those materials, that infrastructure, coming from? Down south and across the border in the U.S.,” he said. “So these tariffs will hit us pretty hard.”
Mr. Cameron has joined an alliance of Canadian border-city mayors that have agreed to pool their resources to call on Ottawa for help in solving trade-related problems. As part of that coalition, each municipality is also dealing with challenges specific to its own economy.
Marlo Casinillo, a fabricator at Northerm Windows, cuts steel parts at the factory in Kwanlin/Whitehorse, on March 27.Alistair Maitland/The Globe and Mail
The trade beef also threatens long-standing cross-border relationships. Alaskans connected by road frequently visit Whitehorse to stock up on supplies. Residents from both sides of the border enjoy each others’ marathons, music and beer festivals. For Mr. Cameron, a good Sunday involves driving to Skagway to feast on halibut burgers. Last week, he spoke to the Alaskan state legislature in Juneau to emphasize the importance of those ties, regardless of what happens at the countries’ national levels.
Whitehorse-based craft brewer and distiller Yukon Brewing has no interest in expanding from its Canadian roots. The company sources ingredients for its beer and spirits in Canada and, unlike many in its industry, imports cans from Asia, not the U.S.
Yukon Brewing had previously exported to Alaska, but ceased those operations long before the trade friction began as it offered the business few benefits and plenty of shipping headaches, co-founder Bob Baxter said.
Mr. Baxter is taking a decidedly pro-Canada stand against Mr. Trump’s suggestions of annexation – including avoiding travel to the U.S. He had planned to meet his sister, who lives in Ontario, in a U.S. destination this summer.
“Now, it’s off the table. We’re meeting in Kingston and going to check out the history of Upper Canada, which I should have been doing a long time ago. But I wouldn’t have had the incentive to do that were it not for Trump,” he said.
Mr. MacGillivray said he is cognizant that close cross-border ties made long ago could be frayed if a trade war escalates. “We have what’s happening on the trade front and then we have what’s happening on the relationship front, and what’s happening with the relationship is concerning – there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“But I’m here running a business as well and so I am focusing heavily on the trade side of things and trying to maintain the best quality product we can at the most competitive price so that we can keep servicing clients both here and in Alaska.”