The escalating trade tensions between Canada and the United States are forcing a difficult decision for a long-established Ontario manufacturer that has called our region home for generations.
DFC Woodworks Inc., a Kemptville-based company that has crafted outdoor wooden patio furniture since 1955, is now contemplating a move that would shift the majority of its manufacturing operations across the border. The family-run business specializes in Muskoka chairs — also known as Adirondack chairs — and other outdoor furniture pieces.
The company's predicament stems from newly imposed U.S. tariffs that have fundamentally altered its business model. With approximately 70 per cent of its furniture destined for American customers, DFC Woodworks now confronts a punishing 50 per cent duty on those exports.
François Bruneau, president of DFC Woodworks, faces three equally unappealing options: continue absorbing the substantial tariff costs and watch profit margins evaporate, increase prices and risk losing the U.S. market entirely, or relocate most manufacturing to American soil.
The situation facing this Kemptville manufacturer reflects broader challenges confronting Canadian small and medium-sized businesses caught in the crossfire of international trade disputes. According to Fen Hampson, an international affairs professor at Carleton University, smaller manufacturers often lack the financial cushion and market diversification that help larger corporations navigate trade wars.
Unlike multinational corporations with deep pockets and teams of trade specialists, mom-and-pop operations typically operate with thinner margins and fewer resources to pivot quickly when trade policies shift. These family businesses also tend to have more concentrated customer bases, making them particularly vulnerable when a primary market becomes economically inaccessible.
For a company that has been part of the Ontario manufacturing landscape for more than seven decades, the prospect of relocating represents more than just a business decision — it's a potential loss for our local economy and the skilled workforce that has built these products for generations.
The coming weeks will prove critical as DFC Woodworks weighs its options. Whatever decision the company ultimately makes will serve as a bellwether for other small manufacturers navigating similar challenges in an increasingly uncertain trade environment.
