Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales fell 2.8 percent in April, the largest monthly drop since October 2023, as the tariff dispute with the United States hit the industry.
StatCan says manufacturing sales stand at their lowest level since January 2022 after a third straight monthly drop.
Drops in sales of petroleum and coal products (down 10.9 percent), motor vehicles (down 8.3 percent) and primary metals (down 4.4 percent) drove the decline.
While the trade war kicked off in March, April marked the first full month of tariffs from the United States in many sectors—particularly targetting Canada’s steel, aluminum and automotive industries.
Roughly half of manufacturers surveyed by StatCan say they were being affected by tariffs in some form in April, as did 43 percent of wholesalers….