Canadian Booksellers Warn Tariffs Could Devastate Industry Amid Ongoing Trade Dispute
A Thunder Bay bookseller is warning that proposed Canadian tariffs on U.S. imports could severely damage the Canadian book industry.
Starting April 2, Canada plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on certain U.S. goods in response to escalating trade tensions with the United States. Among the potentially impacted items are books printed or warehoused in the U.S., said Lynne Warnick, co-owner of Entershine Bookshop in Thunder Bay.
“Most people don’t realize that the majority of Canadian-published or Canadian-written books are warehoused or printed in the United States at some point,” Warnick said. “So it would mean that a majority of our books would have a 25 per cent tariff imposed on them.”
Historically, books have been exempt from tariffs. Warnick said targeting them as a countermeasure could backfire. “I don’t think this is really going to hurt the United States, but I think it could be devastating to the Canadian book industry.”
For Entershine Bookshop, the cost increase would be immediate and unavoidable. “Our margins are already razor thin,” Warnick explained. “We can’t absorb those costs. They would have to be passed on to our customers—especially schools and libraries.”
She also fears the impact on Canadian authors, particularly local and independent ones. “If those books have tariffs on them and become priced out of the market, I think local authors in particular are going to see their sales drop.”
Local author Heather Dickson, who writes as H. Leighton Dickson, echoed those concerns. While her independently published books are printed locally or through Amazon Canada, she recently signed a two-book deal with U.S.-based Red Tower Books. Her first title with them, Ship of Spells, is set for release in November.
“That’s a considerable increase in the cost of a book,” Dickson said. “If hardcovers are already $32 to $48 in Canada, add 25 per cent—that’s significant.”
Although she hopes readers will continue buying books regardless, Dickson notes the broader publishing industry has already been struggling in recent months. She also pointed out Canada’s limited capacity for large-scale book printing. “It really is the U.S. or China,” she said, suggesting the tariffs could shift more business overseas.
Warnick said the issue was discussed at a recent Canadian Independent Booksellers Association meeting, and that advocacy efforts are underway. “We’re trying to make as much noise as possible,” she said. “We’re asking people to write to their MPs, the Department of Finance, and let their voices be heard.”
“My understanding is that the government will literally be counting the responses to this proposal,” she added. “It may come down to how many people said no.”
