Thank you, Madam Chair and the committee, for inviting me to present on behalf of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, and thank you for letting me do so from a Vancouver hotel room.
CISC is Canada's voice for the steel construction industry, representing the steel manufacturers, fabricators, suppliers, constructors, engineers and architects who are building Canada's infrastructure with steel. The steel construction sector directly employs 30,000 workers from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and supports 100,000 jobs in total.
One year into a trade dispute with the United States, the domestic steel construction industry faces continued disruptions that put many high-skill jobs at risk. Recent 2026 changes to U.S. tariff policy further jeopardize the domestic market, with surtaxes now applying even on Canadian fabricated goods made with U.S. melted and poured steel. This represents a major escalation, and coordinated federal budget measures are required to stabilize market conditions, counter trade barriers and protect workers.
CISC recognizes and appreciates the federal government's efforts to support the industry, including trade measures, the buy Canadian policy and the steel trade monitoring task force.
Today and in our formal budget 2026 submission, we recommend a few key steps to strengthen Canada's response to the U.S. trade war and protect domestic jobs in the steel sector.
Our recommendations are to double the steel derivatives import surtax to 50%; optimize the buy Canadian policy by expanding its application to all federally funded projects; expedite the implementation of the budget 2025 commitment to reduce freight rates by 50% to transport steel across Canada, and expand this policy to include marine transportation; and strengthen the enforcement and monitoring of steel trade measures by continuing its work with industry through the steel trade monitoring task force and expand Canada's trade remedy and anti-circumvention tools.
My remarks will focus on our first two recommendations.
In late 2025, the federal government introduced the 25% steel derivative goods surtax order. While the measure was welcomed by industry, trade data and market trends demonstrate that it has not been sufficient to curb the flow of unfairly priced steel products from non-market economies such as China. Statistics Canada trade data show only a marginal decline in imports of key steel construction derivatives from China between Q1 2025, which was prior to the implementation of the derivative surtax, and Q1 2026, which followed implementation.
Canadian steel fabricators continue to face significant pricing pressures when competing against imports from non-market jurisdictions. For example, a British Columbia fabricator manufactures a standard steel bolt at a cost of $26.90, while a comparable offshore, non-market product imported from China lands in Canada at approximately $18.90, even after the application of the 25% surtax. Similar pricing disparities exist across a wide range of steel derivative products used in construction, with some imported products entering the Canadian market at prices as low as half the cost of domestically produced steel products.
CISC recommends that the government increase the steel derivatives surtax to 50% to better address unfairly priced imports from non-market economies and strengthen the competitiveness of Canada's domestic steel fabrication sector. This measure will also support us in our long-term relationship building with the United States, which wants to ensure that Canada is not a back door for dumped steel entering the North American market.
For recommendation two, our best growth market is our own. CISC applauds efforts to support manufacturers through the buy Canadian policy. It is estimated that if the U.S. export market were entirely lost, our industry could lose 3,500 to 5,200 jobs, including upstream and downstream employment effects. The potential job gains from replacing imports with domestic production would range from 10,700 to 16,700 jobs.
The buy Canadian policy announced in December was a positive first step that recognized the importance of using public procurement to support Canada's steel construction sector and strengthen domestic supply chains. By prioritizing Canadian steel in federal construction, the policy signalled that taxpayer-funded projects should deliver the majority of their economic benefits here at home, supporting local jobs, production capacity and regional industries.
While CISC is very supportive of buy Canadian, the policy is not yet optimized to deliver maximum benefits back to Canadian communities. Gaps remain around how broadly this policy applies, how consistently it is implemented and how compliance can be assessed by industry and the public. Without clear application, stronger transparency and better coordination across jurisdictions, the policy risks falling short of its intent and limiting the benefits that federal infrastructure spending could generate for Canadian steel producers and fabricators.