Smelter has workforce of 1,500 and adds more than $1 million a day to B.C. economy
An aluminum smelter site at Kitimat in northwest B.C. is the target of an overnight sanction revealed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday.
At a news conference aboard Air Force 1, as he travelled to New Orleans to watch the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl, Trump told Fox News that a 25 per cent tariff would be applied to all U.S. steel and aluminum imports, effective Monday and subject to negotiation.
The Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat produces around 420,000 tonnes a year, comprising 14 per cent of total output from all of Canada’s nine smelters. The others are in Quebec.
During a 70th anniversary event held last year, Rio Tinto B.C. Works spokesperson Simon Pascoe said that 1,500 people worked at the smelter and its Kemano Powerhouse. The aluminum is made from imported ore (bauxite) and uses hydro power.
“The smelter’s impact extends beyond production. In 2023 alone, it contributed $517 million to the British Columbia economy and invested $3.2 million in local community initiatives,” Pascoe said.
On Sunday evening, Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth said he had reached out to Rio Tinto’s local management, hoping to meet on Monday to talk about the impact of the tariff.
According to the Aluminum Association of Canada, the U.S. buys most of the 3.2 million tonnes of aluminum produced in Canada each year.
Trump said the 25 per cent tariffs would be adjusted over the course of this week on a country by country basis.
Trump also imposed a 25 per cent aluminum tariff on Canada during his first term in March 2018.
Nearly a year later, on May 17, 2019, the White House announced a deal had been reached to prevent “surges” in aluminum supplies from Canada and Mexico, ending the trade dispute.
In reaction to Trump’s announcement Sunday, federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne posted on social media platform X, saying Canadian steel and aluminum support critical industries in the U.S. including defence, shipbuilding and auto manufacturing.
He said the existing trade relationship between Canada and the U.S. makes North America “more competitive and secure.”
On Feb. 3, Canada and Mexico were given a 30-day reprieve from an earlier tariff threat by Trump toward any Canadian products imported.
With files from Canadian Press