Windsor City Councillor Kieran McKenzie believes the federal and provincial governments may have forgotten one weapon in the fight against American tariffs.
That would be municipal purchasing power.
When the city council meets next, councillors will be asked to vote on a Notice of Motion calling on senior governments to clear the way so municipalities can legally adopt Buy Canada policies.
"If municipalities across Ontario suddenly decided to stop buying goods and services from the United States, that would sting," said McKenzie.
He couldn't say with certainty how much Windsor spends on goods and services from the U.S. but said the purchasing power of all 444 municipalities in Ontario is in the billions of dollars.
"With Mr. [U.S. President Donald] Trump essentially choosing to ignore the trade agreements, municipalities feel like the trade agreements that have been guiding our procurement processes no longer apply."
His Notice of Motion says thousands of local jobs depend on international trade. It also says tariffs from the U.S. on Canadian goods jeopardize those jobs and undermine decades of economic cooperation.
The city's resolution will be sent to the Prime Minister, Premier Doug Ford, local MPs and MPPs, the American Ambassador to Canada, the City of Detroit, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and U.S. Senators for the State of Michigan.