Canadian wool and yarn producers look to untangle themselves from the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs have created a tangled situation for Canadian wool producers and hobbyists, leading some to abandon their American customers. The 50% tariffs on greasy wool imports and some finished wool products have affected Canadian producers who ship their raw wool to the U.S. for processing. Canada lacks the industrial processing capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, making their producers reliant on foreign mills.

The Canadian Wool Council chair, Matthew Rowe, calls it an unfortunate rupture in a longstanding trading relationship as wool prices rise. Canadian producers are instead turning to China and the Czech Republic to avoid tariffs. Judy Enright Smith, owner of the Wabi Sabi yarn shop in Ottawa, has run out of patience with her American supplier and is looking to Europe for wool products.

One Canadian mill, Briggs and Little in New Brunswick, is partially shielded from tariffs as it processes wool entirely in Canada, but the oldest operating Canadian mill, Office of Leah Little, still faces tariff impacts. Wool producer Anna Hunter of Long Way Homestead in Ste. Genevieve, Man., has stopped shipping to the U.S. due to the trade tensions, highlighting the need for a new system to support the Canadian wool industry.