Ottawa should address teen vaping crisis, Alberta beef is on the chopping block for U.S. tariffs, & How will local Calgary businesses be hit with the potential 25% tariffs

The numbers are staggering between 2023 and 2024, $75 million of all vaping tax revenues

in Canada came from high school students, and that's twice as much money spent by the federal government annually to reduce smoking and vaping among Canadians.

“So what needs to be done to address the issue of youth vaping?”

We get the thoughts of Cynthia Callard, Executive Director of Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada. The agriculture sector generated nearly 7% or 150 billion dollars of Canada's gross domestic product last year, notably beef production contributes about 22 billion to Canada's GDP. So just how much of an impact would a 25% tariff have on our massive beef industry here in Alberta?

We'll talk about that topic with Janice Tramberg, President and CEO of the Alberta cattle feeders association. And finally, from the energy industry to beef and lumber, we've heard a lot of conversations surrounding the impact high tariffs could have on some of our biggest industries in Canada. But should local Calgary businesses be concerned?

We get the thoughts of Deborah Edlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber.

When you look at the numbers, they're fairly staggering, $75 million of vaping tax revenues

between 2023 and 2024 came from high school students, and among it's more than twice as much as health Canada spends on all activities to reduce smoking or vaping. It is an issue when it comes to underage individuals using these vaping products.

“So what is being done and what should be done about the issue?”

Here to continue the conversation is Cynthia Callard, Executive Director of Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada. Good morning to you, Cynthia. Good morning. That number is it's stark, $75 million of vaping tax revenues coming from underage

to vap users. Why have in more regulations been implemented to stop this crisis, Cynthia? Well, this quick answer is because the tobacco industry and the nicotine industry are extremely

powerful lobbyists and government so far haven't been willing to call them on what they're

doing. The other complicating factor is that one of their effective lobbying ways is to confuse people about the merits of their products. So a lot of people really believe that vaping products are not that dangerous, not that harmful. It doesn't really matter if kids pick them up.

It's very much the same way people thought 100 years ago when cigarettes smoking became fashionable and displaced pipes and cigars. And on that note, Cynthia, I mean, it's got to be maddening for physicians for doctors because certainly as a parent, it's maddening to me. Over the years, we've spent so much time energy money trying to make cigarettes not so sexy

anymore. The gross pictures on the box is talking them away.

“I think finally kind of worked well to keep cigarettes out of you and keep kids from”

smoking cigarettes and then all of a sudden the markets flooded with vaping stuff. We're right back where we started from. It's exactly the feeling that the industry has been allowed to reinvent themselves. And we did do a, I think, collectively all political parties, all communities of Canadians across, just gradually whittling away at the tobacco issue.

Only defined that these new products made by the same people were able to kind of circumvent that one of the things that's so disheartening is that there are the same number of people using young people and adults using nicotine products either vaping and tobacco as a were 10 years ago. And that's like the first decade in my lifetime experience where we haven't made any real

progress against the addiction. From the outset, Cynthia, you made a sound like when you mentioned the big tobacco companies having the era of the federal government that this is a case when somebody like you steps forward. And the public who might be interested, even though you might have some interest, a case of

David versus Goliath with these big players. So what can the average Canadian do and what can you and your organization do? I think the biggest thing is to care and to just not let the problem get worse without people calling governments on it. You know, there are some very, I think, very clear and simple regulations that can be put

in place these vaping to the reason that kid's vaping is because they're curious and the reason that they're curious is because these things smell absolutely wonderful. And they look cool and they have fills and whittens and whittens and they do a whole bunch of cool things. They look big toys.

And so, you know, I look at them and I think there's no way that I, as an adolescent, could have resisted the temptation. Of course, once you try using nicotine, your brain becomes a bit wired to it. And the companies know that for every person that tries to use the nicotine product, the high percentage become daily users.

And that's the same for nicotine, the basing products as it is for cigarette. So they're highly addictive, they just need to get kids to try them. Governments can stop that happening, they can demand that flavors we take an out, the federal

Now, I don't know if you don't have an in Alberta, but we're close to losing a part of the off federal government is kind of collapsing now that regulation doesn't look like it can be passed.

“And so the only thing that we'll put it back when we also, is that people demand it,”

really. And I think that, yeah, I think we need to, Cynthia, we have a text who just came

in from Roger in, he's asking, you know, how is the tobacco industry still so powerful

after decades of knowing how much cancer they cause? Like, when we say tobacco is big tobacco is powerful, what does that mean in terms of, are they giving money to the government to countries like, what does that look like? No, they're, they're far more subtle. I think they, they know that there's a lot of dissidents.

You know, one of the ways that we know that the powerful is even just the right now, they're close to bankruptcy, they, they, they, they've lost the major court cases, and they're in the, uh, in fallency protection, and yet they've managed to be buoyed up by governments for the last, you know, five years in, in fallency, and they're about to be salvaged through a settlement deal with, with, with governments that are allowing them to continue their

business and set of forces and to go bankrupt.

“I think governments are fond of the revenue.”

I think governments are very concerned about being moralistic, you know, and just kind of the, you know, anti-smoker, so they want to kind of keep things going. And I think there's a lot of, you know, the industry plays on the business. They're very smart. They've got a lot of money so they can hire a lot of good people.

But one of the things that happens is they work behind front groups, you know, they, they put up smokers groups or vapor groups, they, oh, no, no, no, we don't, we can't have this super duper looking, you know, colorful, fanciful, flavorful thing, then we're going to, you know, go back to smoking and, and, uh, things will be worse. Even though there's no scientific evidence and no real evidence and no real reason to do

it that way. So they just, they just, no, they're like, they just, they know the buttons to push with government. But I don't think it's the old fashion kind of wheeling and dealing in, you know, corruption or anything like that.

It's just that they are, they're, they're just slick and powerful.

And, um, they do their, they do their job too well. And so the, it's an interesting topic and, uh, obviously, in the conversation current today, this is happening, we appreciate, uh, all you brought to us this morning. Thanks so much. Thank you so much for your interest.

Cynthia Caller, an executive director of Physicians for a smoke free Canada. A 67-year-old grandfather fails to show up for a meeting with his son at a local tire shop, sparking a desperate search and he wouldn't be the only victim. I'm level news crime reporter Nancy Hicks, you might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat season eight drops April 21st, but you can hear

the first story now one month early, only on Amazon music. For folks with a big stake in the beef industry, see what I did there intentionally, they are very concerned, obviously, about how tariffs will impact their highly integrated Canada U.S. supply chain. That beef production often requires multiple trips back and forth over the border and some

producers are really, you know, trying to forward contract cattle, which is a way for sellers and buyers to lock in the prices, but difficult to do with these tariffs looming overhead, joining us to talk about that aspect of the tariffs this morning, Janice Tranberg, who's a president and CEO of the Alberta cattle feeders association, good morning, Janice, thanks for joining us.

Good morning. We just talked about the fears over the tariffs when it comes to the lumber industry for us here in Alberta, obviously, the beef industry is a big concern and could be heavily impacted.

“What might that look like if these Donald Trump tariffs come into play?”

Well, you know, we have quite a few, quite a few head here in Alberta, I think the number

is around 1.4, 1.5 million head of cattle, and so obviously our processing plants

here can't handle all of that, and a good amount is set down to the U.S. for processing. And what that's good to mean is with tariffs that high, the prices are going to be astronomical, and a lot of feeders are not going to be able to send their cattle down to the U.S. That means there's going to be less cattle for the U.S. processes, but it also means that here in Canada, we're going to have to hold on to those cattle, and remember their

lives, their live animals, so we still have to feed them and keep them going here. Well, I know the beef industry is loud and not just as you mentioned with our strong relationship with the U.S., but across the globe. So could we not look at expanding the reach of our exports to different markets if the

Well, that's certainly one of the strategies, right? Absolutely. But those kinds of things aren't immediate. They take time.

“We have been building a lot of those relationships already, and also remember that we're”

in Alberta here. We're landlots, so then we still have to get our beef process, because you can't shift your live cattle distribution. You can shift your beef distribution, so you still have to get those animals process. Janice, I wonder, if those of us who are not in the industry sort of have a warped view

of making money hand over fist when you're a beef producer, I suspect for those in the

Ag industry, that's not the case, and this could really, they could ultimately shut down

some producers, ultimately couldn't it? That is the fear, absolutely. No, the margins are very thin when it comes to the production side, you know, you have a lot of inputs, think about it, you have to purchase your cattle to, you know, to go into the feedlot, you've got feed costs, you've got labor costs, and you know, for all of

those things really make the margin very, very slim, we're calculating that it could cost if the President Trump comes forward with the full tariff that he's talking about, 25% we're talking around $1,000 an animal that it will cost if we shift that down to the U.S. So yeah, so some producers will not be able to rather the storm. Janice, within these conversations that have really cropped up over the past few weeks,

when it comes to these potential 25% tariffs on some of our key industries, we have heard

that there could be blowback for Canadian consumers, and you know, well, specifically

Alberta consumers here, when it comes to retaliatory measures, so could, you know, something

“like this impact the price of beef or for Canadians and, and Albertans?”

Well, your crystal ball is good as mine, but, you know, I think that it could be, it could go a couple ways, honestly, we could get an over supply of cattle, which typically should mean that prices might go down a little bit for domestic, but all of those other inputs and everything else that we might need, that could raise prices. So, you know, so I think in the long run, it would probably raise prices.

Which we don't need more of right now, Janice, that's for sure. Thank you so much for your time this morning and breaking it down for us. Thank you. Appreciate it, Janice Tramberg is the president and CEO of the Alberta cattle feeders association. We love any opportunity to catch up with Deborah Yedland, of course, Deborah is the president

and CEO of the Calgary Chamber. Lots to unpack what's happening here locally, and something interesting that I want to get into is the fact that in the conversation about these tariffs, and again, still on hold waiting for the date, waiting for exactly what will be unpacked, but we're focusing on the huge industries that are tied to our nation.

We talked lumber, beef, obviously, energy, but the local impact of these tariffs and potential for the impact of local and small businesses, family run businesses, in fact, in our city.

We'll get there in a second, but first, good morning to you, Deb.

Good morning. You're here. You're happy. I've seen you since I started. You're still using that joke and I'm like, "Yeah, I'm a dad, I haven't seen you."

But we wanted to talk about your recent trip. You were in Washington at the same time as the inauguration. Yes. So you were down there for that? There were a number of people from the business community that went down to be where

he asked at the Canadian Embassy, and various industry organizations, I was a guest of Cap, and we were able to be part of the, you know, witness the inauguration from the Canadian Embassy. Of course, everybody was moved inside because I was called, and yes, it was called. And it was really interesting to see how everybody was waiting to hear what the speech

was going to be, and when President Trump was done, and there was no mention of Canada, there was a bit of relief, and then, of course, by seven o'clock that evening, that relief turned into another round of now, what do we do? How are we going to respond when is it going to happen? Is February 1st real?

And what's our next move?

“And that's what we've been dealing with ever since.”

So, I mean, when you're in Washington, you've got a whole bunch of, you know, business people from across the country there, talking about what potentially this could do to our country, is there, like, are we getting a bit of fear mongering, or is everybody in every industry really scared of what could potentially happen? Everybody's very worried about the impact this could have on the Canadian economy no matter

what.

And how much it could look like, some people are saying, you know, maybe this is the

price we pay for being part of a security system, being part of what the U.S. does broadly speaking.

“I, you know, can buy that or not, but I think what's really really, you know, clear”

to how so many people is that we have to think about how we strengthen our own economy. And I think then, all so many things of surface, whether it's interpreventual trade, the fact that we have bailed on very important infrastructure projects like energy east and northern Gayway that we've missed the boat on the LNG growth and where do we go from here? How do we accelerate infrastructure that will actually help insulate our economy and help

us develop new markets outside of being so dependent on the United States? I think that is the thing that has come to roost in a big way. I'm spending some time this morning with Deborah Yedland, a president to see all the Calgary chambers. So the conversation surrounding these terrif has been despecated for for weeks

now, really when you think about it.

And then the clarity was not, you know, put forth on Monday and it kind of kicked down the road. So I'm wondering, again, this is just a crystal ball talk here, Deb, but what do you think that could mean that we don't have a solid answer right now? Could that work in our favor that is being kicked down the road as far as maybe not as severe

or is it just just delaying the inevitable?

“Well, I think that anybody who believes that terrif won't be coming is living in a different”

in a world of magical thinking because it's not a question of if it's just when and what's the magnitude going to be and we have to figure out how we're going to respond. I think there's also some thought that this is really a signal that we have to move ahead really quickly, open up the USMCA trade agreement now, not wait until 2026 and really look to see where we can make a deal and be able to move forward because that's actually

what we need to do and that would eliminate the uncertainty if we start that process right away. Of course, but as a country, we don't really have the leadership we need federally. That's another conversation and another challenge. So I mean, you touched on energy, you know, energy east and interpreventual trade.

Can we play catch up on all these things? Is it possible? Is it too late?

Or is it better late than never?

I think, as, you know, there's an adage that best time to plan to treat was yesterday the second best time is today. And so in that context, context, let's put energy east and let's put Northern Gateway on the table and see what that looks like. Of course, that's going to take a while either project would take quite a while.

You need certainty from a regulatory standpoint.

“You need to most likely, in the case of Northern Gateway, start with renewed environmental”

assessments, indigenous consultation as well. Interpreventual trade barriers, we actually should be able to get some work faster. Yeah, there's the new S partnership that's in place with Western provinces. We can, you know, there's been talk about rolling that out across the country. That's something that we could actually put on the table and work towards more expeditiously.

I would say. But we really need to think about the fact we've been very complacent as a country. We have alert relied disproportionately on one economy. And now it's time to really, really think about how we develop new markets because we need to insulate our economy, you know, not just for tomorrow, but for decades.

And with the tariff talk, again, we focus big time on the heavy weights of Canadian industry. No question. But what about the monp on the small and local businesses and calories? It's just the trickle down effect that will have the impact or bigger than that for these local businesses.

Well, it depends on where they source their products from and what the costs are going to be because just think about this, the tariffs are going to have an impact on the Canadian dollar. If you're sourcing your goods in the U.S., your terms of trade will decrease. It'll be more expensive to buy.

So do you source somewhere else? Can you find a substitute product? And if you can't, what does that do to your business? Can you pass on the cost to consumers? Most likely you can't, or there's not the full cost anyway because we're still dealing with

an inflationary environment. People still sort of digesting where prices of gold price levels have gone. And so I think it's very disconcerting because when you think about it, there's direct and indirect jobs that are affected by, let's say, changes with the energy dynamics. And so if companies aren't investing, that means that the small businesses that support those

larger organizations are going to feel it as well. And so it's, you know, the small and medium size businesses, not just in Calgary, but across the country are very, very concerned about what this could mean. I would imagine no better time as well than to join the Calgary Chamber or your local Chamber wherever you might be to be sort of part of a bigger group that might have a little

bit more power, have better ideas, you know, in order to help everybody, kind of weather this storm that you say, I think we all can agree is coming. We need to make sure that we speak with one united voice, and that we have as much of that conversation from a business standpoint resonating across the country. You know, the larger, the larger companies absolutely have their, you know, their connections

And the Canadian Chamber, the Calgary Chamber, we're very hard to advocate on behalf

“of small and medium size businesses, 95% of Canada's business fabric is small and medium”

size businesses. So we're here to help get our board. We're against it for the clock, but I just, this just came down from Yahoo Finance and Yahoo

Business News, Breaking News, and this is Tai T. Elon Musk who we do know is tied with

president.

“Tesla will raise prices for its vehicles in Canada by up to $9,000 starting February”

first. That's $9,000 on the Tesla's if you drive those, it's just came down right now. So interesting. So it's interesting, though, because he also signed a suspension of the, of the tax credits for electric vehicles in the States.

And so protect your own curious as to what that means, but that those tax credits no longer available for EV purchases in the States.

“So what does that do to Elon Musk's sales in the States if those tax credits are going to disappear?”

This will be the last time we talked to you about the first time we talked about this.

Haverechamber.com to get all the details to join in, join forces, Deb, thanks so much for being with us. Thanks for having me this morning. Ever yet, let's present it and see EO of the Calgary Chamber. Welcome to Survivor 50.

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