WINDSOR, Ontario, March 28 (Reuters) – Windsor-based FASTSIGNS, a Canadian company that designs and installs commercial signs and graphics, last year endured a tough year since the pandemic hit its core automotive customers.
The introduction of a new project this year has brought relief, but the company says that customers are looking for longer payment terms, placing smaller orders, and negotiating higher prices due to uncertainty related to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which will be reviewed this year.
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“CUSMA is very important,” said Jackie Raymond, co-owner of FASTSIGNS, referring to how the agreement is called in Canada. “It trickles down to every small business, all the way down to your barber shop and your nail shop, which will affect all of our customers.”
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A manufacturing hub with thousands of small and specialty parts manufacturers, Windsor primarily serves auto companies and equipment manufacturers locally or across the river from Detroit, America’s automotive capital.
Canada is one of the cities most exposed to Trump’s steel, aluminum and auto tariffs. Its economy has been reeling over the past year as Trump has gone back and forth on tariffs, though most Canadian goods have ultimately retained free access under the USMCA.
The city’s hundreds of small parts and accessories manufacturers, which thrive on close ties to Detroit’s auto industry, faced shrinking demand as order books dried up.
Production reports for nearly a quarter of the workforce in the Windsor-Essex region which includes Windsor and nearby municipalities. About 90% of the city’s exports cross the border, often multiple times during production. Overall, the US accounts for about 68% of Canada’s exports.
“When Donald Trump … makes a threat, we hear it first, and we feel it the hardest,” said Ryan Donally, CEO of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce.
The council, which represents 750 local businesses that employ more than 40,000 workers, says companies have halted investment, slowed production, and cut jobs because of price volatility last year.
That pushed the area’s unemployment rate to more than 11% in June — the highest among Canada’s major cities.
Point 1 of 7 Employees at Windsor-based FASTSIGNS, which designs, manufactures and installs custom business signs and graphics, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Wa Lone
When Trump exempted USMCA-compliant imports from Canada from tariffs last March, Windsor regained its status.
“As long as the CUSMA relationship is there, Windsor will be fine,” Donally said. “Would that somehow damage it… that’s where the problems come in.”
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Windsor’s unemployment rate, while lower than in June, is still one of the highest among major Canadian cities at 8.6%.
Local shops are complaining of low traffic, restaurants are reporting fewer crowds, and builders are saying the housing market is nearing a standstill – housing is often among the first sectors to show pressure from the effects of price volatility.
“When people are going to make the biggest investment of their lives, they really want to have confidence in their work, in the longevity of their work, in the economy itself. And people have lost that because of the fees,” said Brent Klundert of BK Cornerstone, a real estate developer.
Klundert has laid off 13 of his 21 employees on his books as sales and prices fell last year.
Since January he has rehired 10 of his employees, hoping that homebuyers who have stood aside for the year will start to return. So far, only a few have it.
Data from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed that in February, real estate sales in Windsor fell 15% – almost double the national decline of 8%. Average home prices in the area also fell below the national average, the data showed.
“If we can reach our trade agreements with the US, I think that will increase confidence a lot,” Klundert said.
Skills training and apprenticeships have also flourished in Windsor, as young people are concerned about business uncertainty as they consider their futures.
Lido Zuccato, chair of the School of Arts and Sciences at the College of St.
Donally, from the local chamber of commerce, said that the deep economic and social ties of Windsor and Detroit highlight what is at stake – residents follow Detroit sports teams, listen to US radio stations and cross the border every day for work and business meetings.
“That deep bond is very hard to break,” he said.
Reporting on Promit Mukherjee and Wa Lone; Additional report by Kyaw Soe Oo; Edited by Caroline Stauffer and Deepa Babington
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