Threats and Opportunities of a Trade War for Indigenous Food Insecurity

During his campaign and upon taking office in January 2025, the President of the United States announced his intent to impose tariffs on imported goods to the USA, threatening the centuries-old trade relationship between Canada and the United States. On Tuesday, March 4th, these tariffs officially went into effect.

There are ongoing conversations on how the newly imposed tariffs will impact many industries within Canada, including forestry, oil and gas, mining, and most importantly, agriculture and food, and worsen an already broken economic system.

Food insecurity has been a serious problem across Canada, with Indigenous communities being the most negatively impacted.

Here, We will explore the potential ramifications of tariffs on food security, particularly in Indigenous communities that are already facing food insecurity. We will also address some initiatives being undertaken to work toward food security and food sovereignty within Indigenous communities that may provide hope for a more food-secure future.

Why Is Food Insecurity More Common in Indigenous Nations?

For many Indigenous communities, especially those within the northern lands, food insecurity is a growing problem as people are denied access to healthy foods, the recommended daily caloric intake, and other essential nutrients found in food and within a balanced diet.

Food insecurity in Indigenous communities occurs due to various complex factors, including the cost of transporting food to remote locations, high prices, low wages, and high rates of unemployment in some areas. There is a great reliance on foods imported from other countries with warmer climates, such as the U.S., where many fruits, vegetables, and meats are procured or processed.

Strict legislations and regulations, and many times denial of rights to hunting, fishing, or trapping across treaty or territorial lands in ways that reflect the traditional food practices of Indigenous communities, also contribute to food insecurity.

In 2022, it was alleged that a food retailer which owns grocery stores in many northern communities was hiking up food prices and taking advantage of the vulnerability of those who are food insecure. For example, in northern Manitoba, a family-sized box of cereal was retailing at $17.99, while within a month’s period in that year, a 500ml bottle of olive oil went up $6 to $22.^[1]

Food Banks are struggling to meet the needs of Indigenous communities, with these resources being less common in remote and northern areas and negatively affected by many of the contributing factors to Indigenous food insecurity mentioned above.

How the Tariffs Could Worsen Food Insecurity for Indigenous Peoples

On February 2, 2025, the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) issued its Statement in Reaction to U.S. Tariffs, stating it is “deeply disappointed” by the imposition of tariffs and how it conflicts with the Jay Treaty, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and Section 35 of the Constitution.

The CCIB also talked about how the proposed tariffs could worsen food insecurity in Indigenous communities:

The impact of economic downturns on Indigenous businesses and workers in affected sectors, combined with the high rate of food insecurity, inadequate infrastructure and rate of poverty experienced by Indigenous communities will lead to disproportionate consequences for Indigenous businesses, peoples and communities. Indigenous businesses already face higher challenges due to existing legal and historic exclusions. Tariffs and a trade war risk amplifying challenges such as access to financial services and capital.

In their statement, CCIB strongly and clearly states that they will advocate and amplify the voices of Indigenous businesses while emphasizing the importance of purchasing Indigenous-owned products and services.^[2]

The Push to Create a Stronger Domestic Agricultural Economy

Now, there are conversations around how Canada can become more self-sufficient in how food is cultivated, processed, and sold within Canada, reducing the reliance on the U.S. This would require a reimagining of the Canadian food supply through technology, the development of new crops to accommodate Canada’s climates, and strong government support to help food producers investigate the domestic capacity for a strong food supply.^[3]

In these discussions, it’s important to recognize the factors that threaten Indigenous communities while also considering traditional practices as possible solutions to Indigenous food insecurity.

Preservation of Indigenous Food Cultivation

In recent years, various initiatives have cropped up to support the preservation of Indigenous oral traditions around food cultivation, hunting, fishing, and trapping.

Here are some examples:

• Nonprofit OceanWise will provide funding to support three First Nations across British Columbia and New Brunswick in integrating Indigenous knowledge and assessing the sustainability of small-scale fisheries with a goal of providing economic resilience.^[4]
• A summit was held to recover abalone, a nutrient-rich gastropod found in coastal communities such as Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, which collapsed as a species in the 1980s due to commercial overfishing.^[5]
• Programs such as Indigenous Pathways at Toronto Metropolitan University promote Indigenous wisdom and traditional agricultural practices, such as the Three Sisters Garden that demonstrates companion planting with the staple crops of corn, beans, and squash, which provide a balanced, nutrient-dense diet.^[6]
• The Nawalakw Garden is part of Kwakwaka’wakw community’s food security and food sovereignty program, aiming to empower communities to have access to and control over healthy foods based on their cultural values.^[7]
• The Yukon Food Security Network’s Nutrition Program provides in-school meal services, food hampers, family feasts and other nutritional supports to Indigenous families for children under 18, while also promoting healthy traditional food practices such as seasonal harvesting, preservation and meal preparation.^[8]
• Gaagige Zaagibigaa is a community-led initiative in northern Ontario that seeks to develop a food system planning and resourcing process to support households and communities in food-based initiatives that align with Indigenous values in Indigenous settings.^[9]

These initiatives rely on funding and government support to realize, honour, and implement Indigenous practices around how food is grown, acquired, processed, and distributed across communities.

Building Realistic Hope in Uncertain Times

History shows that trade wars between Canada and the U.S. have very poor outcomes for the global economy as well as Indigenous communities.

While we have outlined some of the initiatives actively working on the issue of Indigenous food insecurity and preserving traditional food practices, the reality is that we are in uncertain times and that large initiatives like the ones we outlined above need funding and often take time to come to fruition.

Indigenous communities have every right and reason to be afraid of what may happen as these tariffs are imposed on imported goods.

However, now, Indigenous Peoples' voices are being amplified to encourage the concepts of tariffs to be rethought.

In their Statement in Reaction to U.S. Tariffs, the CCIB acknowledged the need for a collective effort, stating that it “invites all partners, allies and friends to join us in our efforts to ensure that mistakes of the past are not repeated and Indigenous people have a position of influence and strength in economic decision-making at the highest levels."^[2]

[1] CBC News. (2024, February 9). Rising food prices continue to impact Canada's North.
[2] Council for Indigenous Business. (2025, February 2). Canadian Council for Indigenous Business Statement in Reaction to U.S. Tariffs.
[3] CTV News. (2025, January 17). U.S. tariffs could become catalyst to bolster Canadian food supply chains: experts.
[4] Ocean Wise. (2025, January 29). Ocean Wise secures government of Canada funding to advance sustainable development goals in coastal fishing communities.
[5] Pew Charitable Trusts. (2025, February 4). In Western Canada, abalone recovery creates new opportunity for Indigenous management.
[6] Toronto Metropolitan University. (n.d.). Indigenous Foodways.
[7] Bergenhenegouwen, C. (2023, October 31). The soil of our garden: The Nawalakw garden and the journey to nourish a community.
[8] Yukon Food Security. (n.d.). Yukon First Nations Education Directorate Nutrition Program.
[9] Feed Opportunity. (n.d.). Northern Ontario Indigenous Food Security Collaborative.

Featured photo: Pexels