‘We’re nice until we’re not’: How Trump’s tariffs threaten Wayne Gretzky’s hometown

With the pedigree of a person who has seen his share of bust-ups in the boardroom and on the ice, Canadian American businessman Graeme Roustan is blunt about the looming trade war and what it will mean for the two countries he calls home.

With the pedigree of a person who has seen his share of bust-ups in the boardroom and on the ice, Canadian American businessman Graeme Roustan is blunt about the looming trade war and what it will mean for the two countries he calls home. “It’s totally ridiculous,” says Roustan, a prolific entrepreneur and owner of Roustan Hockey in Brantford, Ontario. “This business here has been in place for 178 years and it’s been selling product and trading product with the United States since before Canada was a country. It’s just ridiculous to insult your neighbor, and as a dual citizen, Canadian American, I don’t understand it from the American point of view either, why would we insult Canadians?” His wooden hockey stick company is one of the last manufacturers of its kind in North America, based in the proud hometown of the man widely seen as hockey’s G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), Wayne Gretzky, known here as simply, “The Great One.” Roustan’s business, the city, and even the hockey legend himself have all been caught in the crossfire of the trade war declared by US President Donald Trump that from April 2 will see the US impose widespread tariffs against Canada and other once-friendly trading nations. For Roustan, what the president is calling “liberation day,” feels more like “disaster day.” Business has already been impacted and customers are jittery, he says. “All these are going to the Miracle on Ice Team USA 45th Anniversary Fantasy Camp,” Roustan says, while holding a red, star-spangled hockey stick in his hand. The stick, he says, needs to be shipped to the US in a hurry to avoid tariffs. “The customer wants this to cross the border as soon as possible because they don’t want to get a 25% tax on their invoice.”