Trump immigration policies could mean higher food prices in Canada
Posted November 16, 2016 7:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX, NS. (NEWS 1130) – Grocery shopping could become more expensive for you and your family once US president-elect Donald Trump starts deporting illegal immigrants.
That’s the prediction from a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “Potentially, agriculture in the United States could be affected negatively as a result of new immigration policies implemented by the new president,” explains Professor Sylvain Charlebois.
The production levels in the US partially come down to farms taking advantage of cheaper labour provided by illegal immigrants, which farmers can pay at below minimum wage levels.
Charlebois believes if farmers are forced to pay minimum wage to workers, production will drop off — and that could mean you pay more at the cash register, given much of the food we buy here is grown south of the line. “Mr. Trump has been quite clear with his views on immigration and currently in the United States — over two million illegal workers are supporting agriculture,” says Charlebois.
He adds Trump’s promise to cap business taxes at 15 per cent could also prompt food processors to close or relocate.
