Brampton is trying to turn the Canada-U.S. trade fight into something more concrete than another round of political statements. On September 10, the city unveiled a 10-point U.S. Tariff and Economic Resilience Plan built around three goals: protect businesses, improve competitiveness and build a stronger local economy.
One proposal stands out in a city with deep ties to manufacturing. Brampton wants Ottawa and Queen’s Park to use major public purchases—including government vehicle fleets and defence procurement—to create more demand for Canadian-made goods. The push arrives as U.S. tariffs, Canadian countermeasures and uncertainty surrounding the North American auto industry place new pressure on manufacturers. Brampton’s response also reaches beyond autos, combining domestic procurement with export diversification, artificial intelligence, investment incentives, infrastructure and direct outreach to American political and business leaders.
Canadian-First Procurement Becomes the First Line of Defence
Brampton’s first move is to put more public spending behind Canadian suppliers. The city says it will continue implementing its Made-in-Canada procurement policy and examine whether it can strengthen that policy as trade tensions intensify. Existing contracts are also being reviewed for exit or termination clauses so that, where legally and practically possible, U.S. suppliers can be replaced by Canadian alternatives. The city is encouraging Peel Region and other public-sector bodies to consider similar steps. Brampton also pointed to local utilities that have shifted toward Canadian vendors, including changes involving U.S. suppliers of products such as smart meters.
This is not an entirely new direction for the municipality. Brampton launched its Made-in-Canada procurement push in March 2025 and subsequently approved rules restricting American vendors during the tariff dispute, subject to defined exceptions. What is changing is the scale of the ambition. Procurement is increasingly being treated as industrial policy rather than simply an administrative exercise. Every municipal contract represents demand somewhere in the supply chain, so redirecting even a portion of public purchasing can give domestic manufacturers a steadier customer base when private export orders are under pressure.
Government Vehicle Fleets Could Become an Industrial Policy Tool
The most consequential manufacturing proposal may be Brampton’s call for federal and provincial governments to leverage public procurement—including defence purchases and government vehicle fleets—to support Canadian production. The idea is straightforward: governments already buy large quantities of vehicles and equipment, so those orders could be structured to reward domestic manufacturing, Canadian workers and Canadian supply chains. Brampton is also seeking a larger share of defence-related investment for its growing aerospace, defence and space industries.
That appeal carries particular weight in a city whose automotive identity has been shaken by uncertainty surrounding the Stellantis Brampton Assembly Plant. Stellantis shifted planned Jeep Compass production away from Brampton in 2025, affecting thousands of workers, while the future of the site has remained uncertain. Nationally, the federal government says the auto sector supports more than 500,000 Canadian jobs, including roughly 125,000 direct jobs, and produced more than 1.2 million passenger vehicles in 2025. Ottawa has already introduced a Buy Canadian procurement framework and an automotive strategy that rewards Canadian production. Brampton wants public fleet purchasing to become another practical lever for keeping factories, suppliers and skilled trades working.
A $2.5-Million Accelerator Targets Businesses Caught in the Tariff Squeeze
Not every company facing tariffs can simply switch customers or suppliers overnight. Brampton’s third measure therefore focuses on helping individual businesses work through the disruption. The city plans to establish a dedicated concierge-style service through its Economic Development Office and the Brampton Business Growth Accelerator. The accelerator is backed by a $2.5-million federal investment through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative and is designed to give companies tailored advice rather than forcing owners to navigate multiple government programs on their own.
The program is expected to provide market intelligence, advisory services and business-development connections across Canadian and international supply chains. Companies can also receive help exploring new products and emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defence and space. That matters because the tariff problem is often operational rather than theoretical. A smaller manufacturer may know that its U.S. customer has become less viable but still need assistance identifying a replacement market, qualifying for procurement opportunities or financing a production pivot. Ottawa has significantly expanded its broader Regional Tariff Response Initiative, making tariff adaptation a central part of the federal response to the current trade disruption.
Brampton Is Pairing Tariff Relief With a $2.7-Million AI Push
Brampton does not want its trade strategy to focus solely on shielding companies from tariffs. Another part of the plan attempts to improve their underlying productivity. The city will use a $2.7-million federal investment under the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative to work with the BHive Innovation & Training Hub on the BNext AI Program. The initiative is intended to help businesses in sectors including advanced manufacturing, logistics, life sciences and mobility implement practical artificial-intelligence tools, automation and other technologies.
The timing reflects how quickly Canadian businesses are experimenting with AI. Statistics Canada reported that 19.2 per cent of businesses had used artificial intelligence to produce goods or deliver services during the 12 months measured in the second quarter of 2026, up from 12.2 per cent one year earlier and 6.1 per cent in 2024. Data analytics was the most commonly reported AI application. Separate Statistics Canada research found that AI-using firms showed higher measured labour productivity, although much of the difference was associated with factors such as broader innovation, digital transformation and characteristics of the firms themselves. For Brampton manufacturers, the practical goal is less glamorous: use technology to lower costs, improve output and remain competitive when tariffs make every efficiency gain more valuable.
Export Diversification Is Moving From Slogan to Sales Strategy
Brampton’s fifth point acknowledges a difficult reality: even after years of talking about trade diversification, the United States remains overwhelmingly important to Canadian exporters. The city plans to expand GO GLOBAL Brampton, an export-readiness program that has already involved 310 businesses. Local manufacturers and other exporters will be connected with opportunities in Europe, Asia, Mexico and the rest of Canada through training, trade missions, delegations and targeted market development.
Recent trade figures show why that work has accelerated. The United States accounted for 71.7 per cent of Canadian merchandise exports in 2025, down from 75.9 per cent a year earlier. By July 2026, exports to countries outside the United States had climbed to a record $25.6 billion for the month and represented 33.7 per cent of Canadian exports. That does not mean a company selling specialized components into Michigan can effortlessly replace those orders with customers in Germany or Japan. Different standards, shipping costs and business networks create real barriers. Brampton’s strategy is therefore about reducing concentration gradually, so the loss of one market does not automatically become an existential crisis for a local employer.
A National Investment Summit Gives Brampton a New Sales Opportunity
Tariffs can discourage investment, but they can also force companies to reconsider where production should be located. Brampton plans to use that uncertainty to market itself more aggressively. Its sixth measure calls for a new Invest Brampton campaign aligned with the Canada Investment Summit being held in Toronto on September 14 and 15. The federal summit is bringing together major global investors, Canadian executives and public-sector leaders as Ottawa pursues a goal of catalyzing $1 trillion in total Canadian investment over five years.
Brampton will be competing for that capital with a record it can point to. Its Economic Development Office reported almost $1 billion in industrial construction value in 2025, while major recent investments include manufacturing and research projects as well as expansions in life sciences. Sun Pharma, for example, marked more than $56 million in investment at its Brampton operation in 2026, while Coca-Cola Canada Bottling announced a $141-million modernization and expansion of its Brampton facility. The city’s pitch is built around advanced manufacturing, logistics, life sciences, technology and global trade. In practical terms, Brampton wants companies reassessing North American supply chains to see the city as a place to add production rather than remove it.
Skilled Workers Are Being Treated as Economic Infrastructure
Factories and investment incentives accomplish little without workers capable of running sophisticated production lines, laboratories and technology systems. Brampton’s seventh measure therefore focuses on what the city calls its “talent advantage.” The plan calls for continued investment in entrepreneurship, workforce development, skills training and pathways linking residents with industries that are expected to grow. The goal is both defensive and expansionary: help workers adapt when established sectors are disrupted while ensuring new employers can find the skills they need locally.
Brampton does have a substantial educational base to work with. Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census found that 38.2 per cent of residents aged 25 to 64 held a bachelor’s degree or higher, above the national figure of 32.9 per cent. Almost half of Brampton residents in that age group with a postsecondary credential had completed their highest credential outside Canada. That internationally trained workforce can be an advantage in a city trying to build connections with overseas markets, but qualifications alone do not automatically match workers with employers. Brampton’s challenge is to turn a large and diverse labour pool into the specific technical, entrepreneurial and skilled-trades capacity demanded by advanced manufacturing and other expanding industries.
Brampton Wants Companies to Stack Incentives Instead of Leaving Money Unused
The eighth point is less dramatic than tariffs or automobile plants, but it could influence whether individual projects proceed. Brampton wants businesses and developers to make fuller use of municipal, provincial and federal incentives by helping them identify programs that can legally be combined. Rather than viewing each grant, tax incentive or development-charge measure separately, the city wants qualifying investments to assemble packages capable of reducing overall project costs.
Brampton already operates several tools that illustrate how the approach can work. Eligible office projects can receive a Tax Increment Equivalent Grant that offsets a portion of the increase in municipal property taxes over a 10-year period. The city also offers a 100 per cent waiver of its development charges for qualifying new office development, including eligible office portions of mixed-use projects. The programs target employment in areas such as innovation and technology, health and life sciences and advanced manufacturing. Invest Brampton has specifically promoted the ability to combine incentives from different levels of government. In a period when higher tariffs and financing costs can alter investment calculations, reducing the cost of a factory, laboratory or office project can become part of the competition to keep investment in Canada.
Infrastructure Spending Is Being Folded Into the Tariff Response
Brampton’s ninth point broadens the plan beyond direct business assistance. The city wants approved infrastructure projects advanced more quickly to support employment and improve long-term competitiveness. Its rationale links infrastructure to goods movement, population growth, access to jobs and the ability of businesses to expand. For a major manufacturing and logistics centre, congestion, road capacity and transit connections are not merely quality-of-life issues; they can affect delivery schedules, labour access and the cost of moving products.
The city already has a significant capital pipeline. Brampton’s adopted 2026 budget funds long-term investment in roads, facilities and other municipal assets, while its longer-range plans include road widening, rehabilitation and major transit projects. Ontario’s 2026 budget also committed to a wider provincial infrastructure program that includes major transit and health investments affecting Brampton. Accelerating projects during a trade slowdown serves two purposes in the city’s strategy: construction itself supports economic activity, while completed infrastructure can make Brampton more competitive when companies decide where to locate future production. The difficult part will be distinguishing projects that are ready to move from larger proposals that still depend on outside funding, approvals or multiyear construction schedules.
Brampton Still Wants U.S. Allies Even as Canada Buys More at Home
The final point reveals an important tension in Brampton’s strategy. The city wants Canada to become less vulnerable to the United States, but it is not arguing that the two economies should simply pull apart. Brampton plans to increase outreach to American elected officials, companies, industry groups and communities that benefit from cross-border commerce. Its message will be that tariffs can threaten employment and investment on both sides of a supply chain that has been integrated for decades.
The scale of that relationship explains why diversification and diplomacy are being pursued at the same time. U.S. government figures put total U.S. goods-and-services trade with Canada at approximately US$872.3 billion in 2025. Automotive production is especially interconnected, with components routinely crossing the border during the manufacturing process. Yet the trade environment has deteriorated sharply: the United States imposed new tariffs on Canadian products in August 2026, Canada introduced matching counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion of U.S. imports effective September 8, and Washington has since announced additional restrictions on selected Canadian products. Brampton’s 10-point plan is therefore built around two parallel bets—create more economic strength at home while continuing to make the case in the United States that deeply integrated trade remains worth preserving.
