Councillor Lucy Maloney calls for Emergency Council action to protect Vancouver workers and businesses from escalating U.S. tariffs

Mayor Sim, his office, and ABC Councillors have not yet responded to Maloney's request for a Special Council Meeting

VANCOUVER, B.C. on the Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh – Councillor Lucy Maloney has formally requested that Mayor Ken Sim and Vancouver City Council convene a Special Council Meeting to direct city staff to identify urgent measures supporting Vancouver businesses, workers, and residents affected by the recent escalation in U.S. tariffs.

In a letter sent Monday, August 31st, Maloney sought the written agreement of a majority of Council needed to formally request the meeting under the City's Procedure By-law. She asked colleagues to respond by the end of day Wednesday, September 3rd. As of this release, neither Mayor Sim, his office, nor any ABC Councillor has responded to Maloney's request.

The request was made just days before Statistics Canada reported Friday that the national economy lost 42,000 jobs in August after months of gains. Those figures only partly capture the impact of a new 50% tariff on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods that took effect in late August.

"Vancouver is BC's largest economic centre, with the province's biggest port, its research institutions, and a highly skilled workforce," said OneCity Councillor Lucy Maloney, "We have real tools available to us right now to help cushion this blow for Vancouverites and we just need the will on this Council to use them."

The proposed motion would direct city staff to identify additional measures the City can take to support affected businesses and workers; identify how Vancouver can support federal, provincial, and regional governments responding to the tariffs; consult directly with affected businesses and workers to determine the most effective forms of support; and report back to the newly elected Mayor and Council as quickly as possible after the October 17th municipal election.

The motion explicitly commits to respecting the conventions of the pre-election quiet period, directing staff to interpret any actions in a way that does not presume the decisions of the incoming Council. Maloney's request builds on work already underway by the City, including a 2025 local procurement review and the establishment of a Business Growth Task Force, and points to specific tools available to Vancouver under the Vancouver Charter including the appointment of a modern Industry Commissioner to attract and accelerate investment in the city's industrial lands.

"British Columbia is facing the sharpest tariff exposure of any province in the country right now, and Vancouver businesses and workers don't have the luxury of waiting until after an election for City Hall to take action," said Maloney. "This isn't about politics. It's about making sure the people who lose their jobs or their contracts to these tariffs know their city is already doing everything within its power to help them."

<Text of Full Motion Follows>

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Media Contact:
Giovanna Orecchio, Campaign Director, OneCity Vancouver
Email: Media@OneCityVancouver.ca

Working with Team Canada to Bolster Vancouver’s Economic Resilience Amid Ongoing Tariff Pressures

WHEREAS

1. The Trump Administration has levelled unprecedented tariffs on Canadian exports, and British Columbia is expected to feel the impacts most acutely;

2. British Columbia’s outsize exposure to these tariffs will result in potential job losses, business operational impacts, and pressure on the economy, which will generate economic uncertainty for local businesses and workers;

3. Vancouver has a responsibility, as the largest business, employment, and economic centre in British Columbia, to take on a role of economic leadership in support of actions led by Canada and the Province of British Columbia;

4. Vancouver has major competitive advantages, including Canada’s largest port, access to Pacific markets, leading universities and research institutions, health sciences expertise, a highly skilled workforce, established industrial lands, and a central position in a regional economy of more than three million people;

5. Collectively, these assets provide a strong foundation for Vancouver to develop and implement an effective emergency response to tariff pressures, prioritizing quality employment, strategic investment, expanded productive capacity, and increased exports;

6. The City of Vancouver has the authority to implement measures as necessary to support those most affected and to prevent job losses by prioritizing industrial development;

7. Previous collaborative efforts by the Mayor and Council to protect Vancouver residents from tariff shocks, such as undertaking a local procurement review, identifying required City regulation adaptation and establishing a Business Growth Task Force (City of Vancouver, February 2025), have demonstrated the feasibility and importance of a dedicated local response;

8. In response to renewed and increasing pressures, the City of Vancouver should consider expanding these initiatives to provide more direct support to impacted residents and local businesses, and address the needs of shifting supply chains;

9. As U.S. tariffs necessitate changes to Canadian supply chains, Council could support businesses that need to modify their operations to manufacture, store, and distribute within Canada and redirect trade to non-US trading partners by leveraging authority over industrial and employment lands;

10. Particular attention could be given to providing clarity and certainty, and to expediting processes that will facilitate investments, business and employment creation or retention in Vancouver, either through the existing business point of contact or by appointing additional dedicated staff;

11. To attract greater investment and offset the impact of tariffs, the City of Vancouver could build upon the work of the Business Growth Task Force to draw a broader range of investments to the city;

12. As British Columbia’s largest economic centre, Vancouver can and should collaborate with Metro Vancouver, neighbouring municipalities, First Nations, and senior governments to support Canada’s economic interests and defend Canadian sovereignty;

13. To best serve Vancouver’s residents, the City should act promptly and begin developing an economic resilience strategy, without interruption or delay due to the local elections, as the tariff impacts on our economy will continue through the foreseeable future.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

1. THAT Council direct staff to identify and evaluate additional opportunities to harness the City's powers and resources uniquely provided under the Vancouver Charter, to strategically support Vancouver businesses, workers and residents to withstand adverse effects of U.S. tariffs for the benefit of all Vancouverites, including but not limited to; 

1. Measures to provide strategic support to local businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, and not-for-profit organizations;

2. Options to condition the City’s support to measurable outcomes such as quality employment, apprenticeships and training, continued industrial use, favourable social and environmental contributions, or other public benefits;

3. Options for the City to use its authority and resources to support the redevelopment of underutilized industrial and employment lands to provide more opportunities for economic development and employment creation within the City, particularly to those businesses and industries directly affected by tariffs on goods moving into or through the United States of America, including:

   1. Establishing a modern Industry Commissioner under Section 337 of the Vancouver Charter empowered to attract, engage, and deliver investment in Industrial Lands;

   2. Consider applications of Section 193A to empower the city to assemble, expedite, and approve investment in Industrial Lands for industries impacted by Tariffs, or aligned with Vancouver’s broader economic strategy;

4. Measures to attract and retain major employers and facilitate investment;

5. Opportunities to coordinate efforts with different economic sectors:

   1. the port, trade and export economy;

   2. advanced manufacturing;

   3. life sciences, health innovation and commercialization;

   4. the city’s universities, hospitals and research institutions; and

   5. other sectors where Vancouver and the region possess or could build a competitive advantage.

B. THAT Council direct staff to identify opportunities to support, partner with and advocate to the Federal government, provincial and local governments and government agencies to advance Vancouver’s economic resilience and retain and attract employment and investment;

C. THAT Council direct staff to facilitate dialogue with affected businesses, workers and residents to be consulted about how to support them most effectively;

D. THAT Council direct staff to report back to Council before the end of Q4, 2026 with a recommended action plan to rapidly advance Vancouver’s economic resilience, including:

1. Actions and considerations listed in clauses A, B and C;

2. Further opportunities and actions identified and recommended by staff and requested by affected businesses, workers and residents;

3. The financial and operational resources needed to accomplish the proposed plan;

E. THAT Council affirm that nothing in these directions is intended to contravene the practice of observing a quiet period prior to election day or impede the City’s ability to maintain or improve services in an emergency situation, and that these directions are intended to ensure that necessary actions may proceed to enable informed decision-making in a timely manner, without presuming the decisions of the next elected Council.