Montreal clothing store hit by U.S. tariffs, despite Trump saying he ‘loves French Canadians’

A clothing store in Montreal says it’s been impacted by new U.S. tariffs.

The Donald Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations. Among the goods facing tariffs is clothing.

At atelier b, which specializes in sustainable clothes, co-owner Anne-Marie Laflamme says a 50 per cent tariff is simply “way too high for a company with small margins and way too high for customers to afford that.”

“So for us, it’s 10 per cent of our sales revenue that we lose because of that. Ten per cent was in the States.”

Other businesses in Montreal involved in producing clothing are not feeling the negative impacts of the tariffs as much because of what they say is an increase in local clients since the beginning of the trade war with the United States.

“To be honest, we have a lot of positive impact because of the sense of local unity,” said Andrew Baghdi, the owner of Atelier Damask.

“It was 10 per cent to 15 per cent, I would say, in development that has been increased because of the attitude towards local production. So people want to move away from producing for the U.S. or even producing in the U.S. and they’re coming more locally.”

Alexa Cecchetto, the owner of Former Director, says she is bolstered by customers on home soil.

“In terms of my loyal customer base, it’s mainly Canada,” Cecchetto said. “And I still do get orders from the United States, so I think politics is politics. But if you like something, I think you just buy it online.”

‘I love French Canadians!’

Quebec was at the forefront of negotiations between Canada and the U.S. this week, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying American negotiators raised objections to French-language content on streaming platforms and French-language labelling rules. Carney rejected the idea that those issues were negotiable.

“For the Americans, questions about the French language, Quebec culture, francophone culture and Canadian culture are irritants. Here in Quebec, here in Canada, they are rights,” the prime minister said in French.

In a Truth Social post the next day, refuted Carney’s claim.

“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French!” the U.S. president wrote. “In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec.

“I love French Canadians!”

The Montreal business owners who spoke to CityNews reacted to Trump’s words.

“I don’t really trust what he’s saying on social media anyway,” said Laflamme. “I trust mostly the negotiators, what they told us happened on the table.”

“I think actions speak louder than words,” added Baghdi. “When a time comes and he has to sign on paper, I think that’s where he will show his words.”

CityNews also spoke to some Montrealers who questioned the veracity of Trump’s statements.

“He lies too much. I’ve often seen it on social media. Everything he says is incomprehensible,” said Stenio Chery.

“It’s difficult to understand Trump’s mentality,” added Giovanni Suazo. “He changes his mind every day. Every day, he says something different.”