Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

BUSINESS SURVEY

North Shore business survey indicates expectation of economic impact, hope for local consumer support

Mar 21, 2025 | 5:06 PM

KAMLOOPS — While the Canada – U.S.A trade war could change by the hour, the economic forecast of uncertainty has left many business operators in a state of limbo. There’s cautious optimism that the tariff dispute won’t last, paired with the sobering reality of what price increases along supply chains could bring.

In Kamloops, the North Shore Business Improvement Association (NSBIA) is surveying its more than 300 members asking them about the measures they’ve taken to prepare or respond to tariffs. So far, most of the respondents say they plan to absorb costs as long as they can in the hopes that Kamloops customers will continue spending their money locally.

According to NSBIA Executive Director Jeremy Heighton, ‘uncertain’ has become the phase many Kamloops business operators use to describe how they’re feeling about the effects of the Canada-U.S. tariff dispute.

“I think uncertainty is the key concept. Like really, we don’t really know what it’s going to be, we don’t know how big it’s going to be,” Heighton, who also serves as the president of the Business Improvement Areas of BC (BIA BC), told CFJC News.

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The recent survey was meant to gauge what adaptations businesses have made to weather the potential economic storm.

“At this point, business is saying look, ‘we’re going to absorb these costs until we reset our business mode,'” notes Heighton. “But if these go on over a longer course of time then I think we’re going to start to see some more dire consequences like reduced labour, or changes in the marketing habits, or those types of things coming to the community.”

Over at Wild Birds Unlimited in Kamloops, owner Kurtis Huston says they’re braced for some impact, though he notes it’s hard to predict what that will be as its based on which tariffs have been enacted or retracted.

“We really don’t know what will impact us because while our main suppliers are in Canada, the food that we sell in the store is grown all over the world,” Huston said. “So the impacts are still yet to be seen.”

At the same time, the store is among many that hope a growing ‘Shop Local’ mindset will keep operations steady.

“When it comes to economic uncertainty, the only thing that can really save you is the support from your community,” Huston said. “So truthfully, small business ownership is not easy. The margins are very slim and the difference of losing money and staying afloat can be the difference of three or four people coming in and supporting your business.”

45 per cent of the businesses who took part in the NSBIA survey said they’re looking at alternative supply chains, but many already have local sources they rely on. Which means some small businesses could see less of a disruption to their inventory supply chains.

“This indicates that there is an expectation of impact, we will manage it for the time being, but we’re going to be cautiously watching what’s happening in the future,” adds Heighton.

The Kamloops NSBIA survey will expand, as Heighton says BIA BC plans to issue a similar questionnaire to the rest of the province.