Canadian trade survived the first Trump presidency. Here's how it can survive the second

Here we go again.

Canadian industries are bracing for chaos, discord and, above all, tariffs. Donald Trump's sweeping presidential election victory this week sets the stage for a series of obstacles to trade between Canada and its biggest trading partner.

But for those who spent much of Trump's first term defending Canadian interests in a trade war, there is an eerie sense of déjà vu.

"We have that history and experience to draw on," said Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association.

Back in 2018, Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports.

Eventually, Canadian negotiators convinced the Republican president to give Canada an exemption. Cobden said Canada is one of the only countries to negotiate a break.

"The reason we determined that tariffs should not exist between Canada and the United States is that we learned they were doing harm on both sides of the border," she told CBC News.

Since then, Canada has levied steep tariffs on China and introduced new rules to make it clear where steel is coming from. Both measures, Cobden said, should help make it clear that Canada and the U.S. have more in common than the incoming president may think.

"I'm not going to say I'm hopeful, because there's a bunch of uncertainty. But I do feel like we have an opportunity to take the good work we've done ... and stand up and be united with the United States," she said.

That tactic sounds very familiar to Flavio Volpe, president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, who was among those on the front lines of the trade disputes of the first Trump presidency. He said Trump expected the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement would take six or seven weeks. It took 13 months.

Volpe focused his efforts on highlighting how half the vehicles made in Canada are manufactured by American companies and that half the parts used in that manufacturing process come from the U.S.

"We managed to show them that their interests were better served with us than any other partner that they have," he said this week.

Canada's auto industry, steel companies, aluminum producers and the dairy industry have weathered this storm before. But now, even industries that made it through the last Trump presidency without much disruption are worried.

Grain farmers have been hit by steep Chinese tariffs in response to Canada's decision to impose its own tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.