Back in January, I wrote about how hard it was to furnish my new home with Canadian products. That post was written when Buy Canadian was mostly just a nice idea.
It isn’t anymore.
On September 8, Canada’s counter-tariffs on American goods kick in. 15%, 25%, and 50% duties on more than 700 product categories, including furniture, appliances, steel, aluminum, cheese and paper.
So what does it mean for your house? Depends entirely on what you’re buying. Here’s the breakdown.
Made in America vs. American Brands
The tariffs hit products MADE in the United States, not products sold from American companies.
Pottery Barn, West Elm, Crate & Barrel and Wayfair are all American companies, yet none of them are likely to be affected by the tariffs because their furniture is made overseas, in places like Vietnam, China and Mexico.
But that Whirlpool dishwasher built in Ohio? Tariffed. The structural steel going into your basement underpinning? Tariffed.
Fact: Decor and furniture manufacturing largely left U.S. factories decades ago. Appliances and building materials never did. That holds for most of what follows.
How Much Will Tariffs Affect Prices?
A 50% tariff is not a 50% price increase. And consumers don’t feel the impact overnight.
The Bank of Canada tracked daily prices at seven major Canadian retailers through last year’s round of counter-tariffs. Prices on tariffed goods peaked at about 6% higher, or roughly a quarter of a 25% tariff reaching the till. Importers, manufacturers and retailers absorbed the rest. The impacted products didn’t see overnight price increases – the 6% was measured after a full 3 months of tariffs.
It’s also important to note that anything already in transit on September 8 is exempt, so retailers selling US-manufactured products likely have tariff-exempt existing inventory or have ordered inventory to take them through to Christmas.
Another interesting finding from the Bank of Canada study was the minimal impact on Canadian alternative products. Most retailers didn’t quietly mark up Canadian goods just because the American ones got pricier.
While this round of tariffs is likely to be more painful, the 2025 findings do provide hope.
Renovations, Repairs and Maintenance
The new counter tariffs will impact homeowners. A furnace that quits in October, an eavestrough replacement, a water heater, a set of windows: all of it sits on the tariff list whether or not you’re gutting anything.
The biggest exposures: steel and rebar, aluminum windows and doors, railings, soffit, fascia, eavestrough, engineered lumber, HVAC equipment and plumbing fixtures manufactured in the US.
Worth remembering: labour is often the biggest line on your renovation bill and labour isn’t tariffed. So even a sharp jump in materials pricing lands softer on your total than the headline number suggests.
If you’ve got a repair or project already quoted and the materials aren’t ordered yet, this week is the week to call. Ask your contractor, in writing: Which line items are U.S.-origin, and is the price held past September 8?
Thankfully, we have a lot of Canadian-alternatives for the newly-tariffed products. That’s by design: Canada is trying to inflict maximum damage to American companies with minimal impact on Canadians. Some Canadian alternatives to explore:
- Hardwood flooring: Mirage, Mercier, Lauzon, Preverco. Quebec makes some of the best hardwood flooring in the world.
- Paint: Beauti-Tone, made in southwestern Ontario and cheaper than the designer brands. Sico and Dulux too.
- Cabinetry: Kitchen Craft and Decor Cabinets, Prairie manufacturers building at real scale.
- Furnaces, fireplaces, barbecues: Napoleon in Barrie. They publish which lines are Canadian-made, which is more than most companies do.
- Doors, trim, windows: Metrie for doors and trim, Pollard Windows out of Burlington for windows.
Pro Tip: Separate from all this, Canada added a temporary 25% surtax on certain imported wood cabinets and vanities on July 31, and it exempts the U.S., Mexico, Israel, Chile and developing countries. So on cabinets specifically, an Asian import might cost you more than the American one. Canadian-made dodges both.
Appliances
Appliance manufacturing isn’t one of Canada’s strengths and the US brands you know – Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Amana, Viking, Sub-Zero, Wolf – build most of their products in the US, meaning they will be subject to the new 25% tariff.
If you’re renovating your kitchen, this is likely your single biggest exposure. If your fridge or washer is on its last legs, this is the one category where waiting until November could cost you.
Not affected: Samsung, LG, Bosch, Miele, and appliances built by US companies overseas.
Canadian options:
- Elmira Stove Works in Arnprior. Built to order, retro styling, ranges through dishwashers. Premium and custom, so it won’t replace a Boxing Day appliance run, but a genuine Canadian-made swap if you were already pricing a high-end range.
- Danby in Guelph. Canadian-owned, good for compact and specialty fridges, though most of what they sell is built offshore.
Pro Tip: Check the compliance sticker inside the door or on the back panel before you buy. It lists the country of assembly. Two models that look identical on the showroom floor can come from different countries.
Furniture
The good news first: most furniture sold in Canada is imported from Asia or Mexico, which means most of it is untouched by the tariffs. The big-box catalogue and the mid-market direct-to-consumer brands are largely fine.
Where it bites is upholstery, because upholstered seating is one of the few furniture categories the U.S. still manufactures at scale.
La-Z-Boy is the name most people will recognize. They build at plants in Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, and also in Mexico, so it varies piece by piece. The tag will tell you which. Ashley splits production between Vietnam and the U.S. Also worth checking.
Sauder is the one to watch on flat-pack. Based in Ohio, they’re North America’s biggest maker of ready-to-assemble furniture and build about 90% of it there. Their desks and bookcases sell across Canada through Amazon, Walmart, Staples and Costco. So a $200 bookshelf can carry more tariff exposure than a $4,000 sofa. Check the box.
For the full Canadian list, go back to The Buy Canadian Challenge. But if what you care about now is Canadian-made rather than Canadian-owned, these are the ones that actually build here:
- Palliser in Winnipeg. Custom upholstery made in Canada, at a price that doesn’t require a lottery win.
- Montauk Sofa in Montreal. Every sofa handcrafted in Canada. The luxury end, with a lifetime frame warranty.
- EQ3 out of Winnipeg. Some of their custom upholstery is made here. Ask when you’re in the store.
- Stylegarage on Ossington. Their SG Originals line is designed and made in Canada by local craftspeople.
And second-hand deserves a serious look, whether you’re filling an empty house or replacing one tired chair. The duty is already paid, the money stays in your neighbourhood, and reupholstering a good frame through a GTA workroom almost always beats buying new.
Groceries and Household Products
Most of your grocery bill won’t change. Cookies, crackers, pasta, chips, flour, sugar, none of it is on the list.
What is: cheese and curd at 25%, milk products and honey at 50%
Easy swaps, already on the shelf:
- Dairy: Gay Lea, Saputo, Black Diamond, Agropur, Chapman’s
- Seafood: Clover Leaf, Ocean’s, High Liner
- Paper: Kruger Products in Mississauga makes about 44% of Canada’s tissue. Cashmere, Purex, SpongeTowels and Scotties are all theirs, so that’s your direct swap for Charmin, Bounty and Kleenex.
Worth a label check: Cheerios and other General Mills cereals, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines. All U.S.-made, and some of those baking mixes are on the tariff list.
How to Check Where Something Was Made
- “Product of Canada” means at least 98% of the production cost happened here.
- “Made in Canada” means at least 51%, and it has to say “with imported parts” somewhere.
- “Designed in Canada” tells you nothing. Neither does a maple leaf on the box.
For anything expensive, just ask: what country was this manufactured in, and can you show me on the spec sheet? Floor staff usually don’t know off the top of their head. The spec sheet does.
What to Do Before September 8
For most purchases: nothing. Only buy early if it’s something you already needed and it’s genuinely American-made. An appliance you’d already settled on, materials on a signed quote, the sofa you’ve been circling since spring. Ordering now locks in the old price.
And don’t panic-buy a houseful of furniture to beat the deadline. Most of it isn’t affected anyway, and buying the wrong sofa quickly is more expensive than buying the right one in December.
A 50% tariff on something you weren’t going to buy anyway is still 100% of money you didn’t need to spend.
The BREL Bottom Line
This round of tariffs will cost people real money, but not evenly. Thankfully we have many Canadian-made options for most of the tariffed products…and there’s never been a better time to buy Canadian.