July 21 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest slap shot aimed at Canada has sailed wide, with a 50% tariff on Canadian ice hockey sticks set to have little overall impact on the hockey-mad country.
On Monday, Trump unveiled 50% tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada, including ice hockey gear, expected to take effect in 30 days.
But with only one major ice hockey stick factory left in Canada – and the wooden sticks it makes on the decline – the largely symbolic swipe at the country’s unofficial national game has missed the net.
Traditional wooden sticks, like the ones churned out at Roustan Hockey’s Ontario factory, are no longer used by today’s professionals and many children, who favour ultra-lightweight composite sticks made overseas that help deliver more powerful shots and offer better puck control.
“There is a decline in wooden hockey sticks,” said Fiorenzo Arcadi of Toronto Hockey Repair, a retail and repair business that also manufactures custom ice hockey equipment. “We do sell a fair amount, but mostly to beer league goalies.”
Roustan Hockey makes about 400,000 wooden hockey sticks a year, with about 100,000 exported to the U.S. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Nia Williams)
