"The real danger for rural municipalities is the compounding effect: higher costs for goods and services they need to buy, paired with slower revenue growth from a stressed local economy"

A London-area municipality is feeling the toll of tariffs after the cost of a snowplow ordered before the trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump jumped almost $75,000.

Central Elgin, a rural municipality bordering St. Thomas, had allocated $370,000 in its 2025 budget to replace an aging plow truck in its fleet for delivery next July. But the cost of the tandem-axle snowplow jumped due to “continuous changes in trade agreements and tariffs,” a staff report said.

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