Sep 12, 2026
A British Columbia packaging company says the ongoing trade war with the United States is prompting normally fierce domestic competitors to pick up the phone and join forces rather than battle each other for market share.
When faced with rising cross-border duties, CanCorr co-founder Baha Naemi did what many in the cutthroat industry considered unthinkable: he called his direct competitors to audit national manufacturing capacity. By coordinating across rival plants, raw material suppliers and trade associations, Canadian packagers confirmed they could step in to replace imported packaging.
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“The answer was overwhelmingly ‘yes,’” Naemi told CTV News after he surveyed industry capacity across the country.
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Naemi noted that reaching out across competitive lines has proven to be the most vital lesson of the trade conflict, transforming an aggressive tariff war into a catalyst for industry-wide collaboration.
“What this situation has taught us is that during times of crisis, working together with companies that were once considered competitors is a crucial strategy,” Naemi said.
Finding strength in domestic partnerships
The Surrey, B.C.-based manufacturer produces corrugated cardboard sheets and ships roughly 800 million square feet annually to its primary market in the U.S., a volume valued at about $80 million.
While flat cardboard sheets escaped the latest American tariff lists because U.S. plants rely heavily on Canadian supplies, fully assembled cardboard boxes made in Canada face steep trade barriers. At the same time, Canadian businesses have historically imported vast quantities of finished boxes from south of the border.
Rather than retreating, CanCorr saw an immediate opening to supply Canadian firms that previously bought assembled boxes from American vendors.
The positive industry survey gave domestic manufacturers the confidence to ramp up box production and launch targeted sales campaigns promoting Canadian-made packaging. Together, Canadian plants can collectively replace hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S.-made boxes now subject to retaliatory tariffs, keeping business local while insulating buyers from unexpected surcharges.
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Rethinking raw material supply chains
Beyond joining forces with industry rivals, CanCorr is permanently rewiring its raw material supply chains to safeguard operations against future trade friction.
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Historically, about 80% of the paper used in its Surrey operation was sourced from suppliers in the U.S., with the remaining 20% coming from international markets.
The company has now flipped that formula on its head.
About 80% of its paper now comes from Eastern Canadian mills and international vendors, leaving just 20% coming from the U.S. for specialty applications. Naemi emphasized that this shift to domestic and diversified sourcing is intended to remain permanent, regardless of future policy shifts in Washington.
By combining direct competitor outreach with restructured supply lines, Canadian packagers are proving that unified domestic action can insulate local supply chains from severe external trade shocks.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
