Federal drywall tariff out West raises costs, threatens Fort McMurray rebuild
VICTORIA — Drywall prices across Western Canada have shot through the roof after the federal government imposed preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of up to 276 per cent on gypsum board products imported from the United States.
Builders and suppliers fear the ruling could disrupt the supply of the boarding used in walls and ceilings and threaten the completion of residential, commercial and public projects. The tariffs also risk bankrupting contractors who operate under fixed-priced contracts.
A spokesman for Canada’s largest independent gypsum supplier said Tuesday the tariffs undermines the stability of the industry and could impact the rebuilding efforts in Fort McMurray, where thousands of buildings were destroyed by fire earlier this year.
“If we can’t get enough material to ship into the province of Alberta then as Fort McMurray stands, it would be affected like everybody else,” said Doug Skrepnek, chief executive officer at WSB Titan in a telephone interview from Vaughan, Ont.