Keep Canada Wired. Keep Canada Working.
Canada’s copper and aluminum wire manufacturers have come together with a clear warning and a clear ask: if Canada wants a reliable, secure, and electrified future, it must protect and prioritize its domestic wire and cable industry.
The federal government’s recent BUY Canadian announcement, championed by Mark Carney, reinforces what Canada’s manufacturers have been saying for years: a secure and sustainable future depends on strong domestic supply chains. Carney’s message calls for investment, procurement, and industrial policy aimed squarely at Canadian-made products—exactly the kind of framework needed to ensure that the wire and cable essential to our electrified economy are produced here at home. Aligning government policy with the new BUY Canadian vision would send a clear signal that building Canada’s clean energy and housing future starts with Canadian materials, Canadian jobs, and Canadian expertise.
A critical Canadian industry under pressure
Canada’s wire and cable manufacturers supply over 90% of the copper and aluminum wire used to build homes, power plants, factories, data centres, hospitals, and the transmission and distribution networks that keep the country running. These companies employ tens of thousands of Canadians in skilled, well‑paying jobs and represent decades of investment in local plants, equipment, and people.
Today, that capacity is under unprecedented pressure. After recent U.S. tariffs shut the door on many offshore exporters, Canada’s market has been flooded with ultra‑low‑priced imports of copper and aluminum electrical wire, in some cases offered at prices even lower than the cost of the raw material itself. This is not normal competition; it is a tactic designed to displace Canadian production.
Why this matters to Canada’s electrified future
The electrical transmission and distribution network is the backbone of an electrified economy. Every housing start, every retrofitted building, every EV charger, every renewable energy project, and every digital facility depends on reliable copper and aluminum cable to move power safely and efficiently. If Canada loses its domestic wire and cable capacity, it will become dependent on foreign suppliers for a product that is foundational to housing, utilities, and critical energy infrastructure. Once that capability is lost, rebuilding it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
The impact of the current tactic is already visible. Domestic manufacturers are being forced to operate at unsustainable margins. Demand for Canadian‑produced wire is eroding as ultra‑low‑priced imports undercut responsible producers. This directly threatens Canada’s ability to maintain the manufacturing base required to support its housing goals, its grid modernization ambitions, and its broader transition to a low‑carbon, electrified economy.
What Canada’s manufacturers are asking government to do
In a joint letter to the Honorable François‑Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance, Canada’s major wire and cable producers have asked the federal government to extend to copper and aluminum wire and cable the same type of tariff rate quota (TRQ) framework recently announced for Canadian steel producers. Specifically, they are asking that HS codes 8544, 7408, 7413, 7605, and 7614 be included in a TRQ regime designed to counter the importation of offshore product, while respecting Canada’s obligations under CUSMA by excluding products from the United States and Mexico.
The objective is not protection for its own sake. It is to preserve a critical Canadian industry, safeguard skilled jobs, and ensure that Canada retains the ability to produce the wire and cable essential to its housing, utilities, and energy infrastructure. Canada has already recognized the strategic importance of steel; the manufacturers are asking that copper and aluminum wire and cable be treated with the same seriousness.
What this means for contractors, engineers, and distributors
Everyone who designs, builds, and supplies electrical systems has a stake in this issue.
Electrical contractors and plant electricians rely on consistent, standards‑compliant cable to avoid failures, rework, and unsafe installations. Ultra‑low‑priced imports create pressure to choose on price alone, even when quality systems and long‑term reliability are uncertain.
Consulting engineers have a professional duty of care that increasingly extends to the origin, quality, and traceability of the materials they specify. The cable behind a single line on a drawing is a critical safety and performance component, not a commodity afterthought.
Electrical distributors are gatekeepers for what actually enters the Canadian market. Their stocking and sourcing decisions directly influence whether Canadian manufacturing capacity survives this current wave or is hollowed out in favour of offshore producers.
Choosing Canadian‑made cable is not just an economic preference. It is a practical step toward safer installations, more reliable operations, and a more resilient supply chain for the projects that cannot afford failure.
Who is standing behind this call
This initiative is led by the Wire and Cable Manufacturers of Canada, whose members collectively represent the vast majority of Canada’s copper and aluminum wire and cable production. The signatories to the letter include:
Shawflex
Deca Cables
Northern Cables Inc.
PTI Cables Inc.
Domtech Inc.
Essex Solutions Canada
Electro Cables Inc.
Nexans Canada
Together, these companies span multiple provinces and communities, operating plants and facilities that anchor local economies and supply critical product to every region of the country.
How you can help keep Canada wired
Everyone involved in Canada’s electrical ecosystem has a role to play in keeping this strategic capacity alive:
On every specification, drawing, submittal, and purchase order, ask where the cable is made and how its quality is assured.
Where possible, specify and request Canadian‑made cable for residential, commercial, industrial, utility, data centre, and infrastructure projects.
As a distributor, review your line card and sourcing practices to ensure that Canadian producers are visible, supported, and available to your customers.
As an industry stakeholder, support federal policy measures that recognize copper and aluminum wire and cable as strategic products and that address this current scenario in a targeted, rules‑based way.
Canada is on the cusp of a massive build‑out of housing, clean energy, and electrified infrastructure. Ensuring that the wire at the heart of this transformation is made in Canada—by Canadians, for Canadians—is essential to keeping the country wired, working, and resilient for decades to come.
