Are We Sleeping at the Wheel?

For 2025 inflation was under cntrol but what about next year?

Since December 26, a new 25% tariff on imported steel components into Canada has come into effect.
A decision that passed almost unnoticed.
No protests.
No public outcry.
As if everyone… were sleeping at the wheel.

Yet the consequences are very real.

Steel Is Everywhere

You might think these tariffs affect only a few specialized industries. In reality, they impact a vast part of our daily lives.

Canadian-made mattresses with imported steel coils.
Reclining furniture and motorized mechanisms.
Residential and industrial construction.
Screws, hardware, handles, and metal fittings.
Camping and outdoor equipment.
Even everyday items like reusable metal water bottles.

Steel is everywhere

Steel is everywhere. And when its cost increases by 25%, someone always ends up paying. In many cases, the tariff applies to the entire product, not just the steel component. Click here to see the list on the Canadian gouvernement website.

Who Will Pay the Bill?

The answer is simple: Canadian consumers.

Just as inflation had finally come back under control, hovering around 2% in 2025, we are now reactivating cost pressures we know all too well from the COVID era—rising costs, squeezed margins, and higher retail prices.

In the furniture industry, additional tariffs are now being discussed to support Canadian manufacturers. But the real question remains:
Can consumers afford 30%, 40%, 50%, or even double the price of a sofa?

A Generation Already Under Pressure

Canadians—and especially younger generations—are already struggling to make ends meet.
Higher housing costs.
Limited access to home ownership.
Growing debt.
Reduced purchasing power.

Now we are asking them to tighten their belts even further.
How will they build their future?

Why Are We Sleeping at the Wheel?

Because this legislation passed without a collective reaction.
No one really stood up and said, “This doesn’t make sense.”

Doing nothing means accepting that pressure will continue to build—on households, businesses, and the economy.

So, What Do We Do Now?

I don’t have all the answers.
But one thing is clear: it is time to act.
To talk about it.
To question it.
To look for balanced solutions.

Turning Clouds into Opportunities

Happy holidays 2025

I am an optimist by nature.
So I take this opportunity to wish you happy holidays and, above all, a 2026 where we turn these clouds into opportunities.

Let’s not sleep at the wheel.
Let’s wake up.
And let’s act.

— Christian Stanley Gagnon