What begins as lengths of raw lumber is cut, shaped, sanded and painted into one of the most recognizable symbols of Canada’s national sport: the wooden hockey stick.

This factory in Ontario is the only remaining large-scale producer of these sticks in North America, an industry that once thrived in Canada and the United States.

Today it turns out about 400,000 sticks a year, but rising costs, shrinking demand and trade disputes are putting pressure on production.

US tariffs on Canadian exports have led to delays and unexpected duties at the border, adding to wider uncertainty.

Managers say the challenge is keeping prices fair for players while covering the costs of trade barriers.

The United States has repeatedly signaled tariffs on Canadian exports as part of President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade agenda.

The stated goal is to encourage more manufacturing in the United States, but for Canadian businesses it has introduced added costs and uncertainty in cross-border trade.

The company estimates around a quarter of its sticks are sold in the United States, including custom orders for professional teams.

Tariffs act as a tax on imported goods, and when shipments are flagged at the border the added cost is passed directly into the final price.

For US buyers, that can mean a sudden increase of as much as 30 percent on an order.

The unpredictability is just as challenging.

Some shipments clear without issue, while others face surprise duties or lengthy inspections, leaving companies unsure about what costs they will ultimately face.

That uncertainty, Roustan CEO says, makes it harder to plan production and to compete with sticks made more cheaply in Asia or Mexico.

Tariffs are intended to encourage production within the United States by making imported goods more expensive.

For Canadian manufacturers, that means higher costs when selling across the border, even for items like hockey sticks that are strongly tied to Canada’s sporting tradition.

Even without tariffs, demand for traditional products has been steadily eroding.

A shift turning consumers away from wooden sticks began decades ago.

Players at all levels now favor composite models made from carbon fiber, which are lighter and stronger, but also more expensive.

No NHL player has regularly used a wooden stick in years, leaving traditional ones with a shrinking share of the market.

Still, their place in Canadian culture remains strong.

For recreational players, the link to Canadian identity and the history of the game remains important.

While the wooden hockey stick market may be shrinking, its heritage and quality remain a point of pride.

Amid turbulent trade disputes and economic pressures, the hope is to keep this piece of hockey’s legacy firmly rooted in Canadian soil.

AP video by Kelvin Chan