Correct. I tried to be here at the same time, but flight schedules just wouldn't let it happen.
Good morning, committee members. I know this committee has heard from a diverse cross-section of interests across industry and the commercial sectors impacted by tariffs on Canadian businesses. Thank you for allowing me to appear today.
I'd like to examine those impacts through a different dimension, I believe, that incorporates the anxiety most businesses are confronting alongside the pressures this government is working to overcome.
I am the president and CEO of the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce. Our membership is close to 600 businesses and organizations. We count large industry to small businesses, which make up the majority of our commercial sector and employ over 14,000 people.
This committee is doubtless aware that St. Thomas, Elgin County and the broader region of southern Ontario were ground zero during the unparalleled economic contraction between 2008 and 201O. Since then, however, we have worked diligently to turn the page. Our industries and commercial sectors create everything from auto parts, which have been our traditional hallmark, to consumer goods and electronics, to home fixtures, beverages, agricultural and agrifood products, to fuels and even clean energy enterprises.
We're turning the corner, but that transition is being threatened by the imposition of tariffs in our largest market, the United States. Directly, there is a threat in my community to over 5,000 jobs. That' s one of every four jobs in our market. Indirectly, that threat extends to several thousand more. Any loss of these jobs would have direct impact on this government's priorities. The cost of tariffs in our market area is staggering. In a random sampling of businesses we know to be affected, we found the annual impact at $40,000 for a craft brewery using aluminum cans, to over $70 million for our largest employer, with a direct impact on 1,500 jobs.
Enterprise in Elgin County builds critical products whose uses go to the heart of many of the policy objectives of this government. Our area boasts manufacturers of critical components and finished products that contribute to positive outcomes in neonatal and newborn health. For example, we create parts for incubators and other medical devices that are essential to strong public health. Healthy outcomes for people here in Canada, in the developing world and around the globe depend on what is built right now in our community.
While the auto manufacturing sector is but a fraction of its size prior to 2008, innovation and quality continue to hold high value among our U.S. and international consumers. But its viability is at stake and mitigated in this tariff environment largely by a lower Canadian dollar. As commodity prices will go up, so will our dollar, making the continued viability of our area industries all the more untenable.
It is not unreasonable to observe that many of our existing businesses may find it necessary to leave the country, relocating in whole or in part to the U.S. Our local innovation extends beyond hard products alone. We are proud to count internationally recognized leaders in the agrifood sector. Their processes and efficiencies, by design, contribute to lowering food prices and opening greater access to high-quality, sustainable, and locally grown or raised produce, fish and others. Their machinery and equipment needed to produce and deliver their product excellence relies upon steel and aluminum. While this sector is providing vital food access for Canadians, and globally, their access to the needed inputs to their operations is either narrowing or has closed.
Like other regions of southwestern Ontario, we have become a gateway for foreign companies to establish Canadian operations and footprints. Further progress depends on the government's constant and ongoing efforts to attract diverse investment to rural Canada.
Mr. Chair, my chamber and I recognize this is a difficult dilemma. The near-term consequences for our businesses are extraordinarily real and can undo what has taken nearly a decade to build. The jobs factor alone captures the most attention for obvious reasons, but the implications extend further. From health care to transportation, to what we eat, to bettering society for all, these are all amplifiers for this government. St. Thomas and Elgin County are solution destinations. I trust this government will deliver practical and prompt relief so our solutions can continue to deliver results locally, across Canada and around the world.
Our position in representing the business community and the people of our region is firm. Canada should receive nothing less than a full and permanent exemption from steel and aluminum tariffs.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today.