The American dream of owning a white-picket-fenced home is quietly being priced out - brick by brick, beam by beam. And no, this time it’s not inflation or rising mortgage rates to blame but tariffs it is, with a maple twist.
According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, tariffs imposed on Canadian construction materials can potentially incur an additional cost of USD 10,000 to building a home in the United States by 2027, given some of the key construction materials used in building a house come from Canada. Such as 70 per cent of the lumber used in the US residential buildings, 25 per cent of iron and steel, and 18 per cent of copper.
What more? Aluminium, which is widely used in the residential construction sector in US, comes from Canada, is tariff-stricken too. In 2024, the United States had secured 3.36 million tonnes of aluminium from Canada, which accounted for 65 per cent of US tariffs. In the first four months of 2025, the imports stood at 1.09 million tonnes, albeit down by 7 per cent Y-o-Y, accounting for 54 per cent of the United States total aluminium imports, yet remained the largest exporter of the metal to the US.
Canada’s aluminium exports currently face 50 per cent tariff imposed by Trump administration, effective June 4, 2025. Besides being raised from the initial 25 per cent, the tariff policy also underwent a redesign to ensure consumers pay more. The new system prioritises:
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