After a month of tense discussions between the United States and Canada, the two countries lurched into a trade war this week, with President Donald J. Trump imposing tariffs of 25 percent on Tuesday and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately announcing retaliatory measures. And then, on Thursday, Trump pivoted again, saying that he would delay tariffs against most Canadian goods for another 30 days, following a conversation with Trudeau. At the time of writing, Canada’s first round of tariffs remain in place, which includes tariffs on art from the U.S.
Despite the détente, the economic relationship between the two countries has been altered. The tense situation, and the uncertainty, has already affected the art industry, experts say. “Tariffs have been a topic of concern for dealers since the idea was floated in November,” Mackenzie Sinclair, the director of the Art Dealers Association of Canada, told me. “The art market is a fragile ecosystem.”
Trump’s ongoing tariff threat, paired with his continued comments about making the country the 51st U.S. state, has prompted a swift response in Canada, even amid a sense of disbelief.
“People are choosing to buy Canadian,” said Bernard Doucet, the director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, N.B. “More people feel insecure about their livelihoods. The arts sector is not any different. We may want to separate it from these real-life preoccupations of most people, but it’s not separate.”
A sculpture by Louise Bourgeois at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
New Rules, New Partners
The implementation of U.S. tariffs rattled the Canadian public since 67 percent of the country’s GDP is tied to trade with its southern neighbor. “I never thought that it was going to get to this,” said Alan Ganev, the managing partner of Taglialatella Galleries, which has locations in Toronto, New York, and Paris. “However, we did prepare ourselves for it.”
Taglialatella brought additional inventory from the U.S. to its Toronto branch ahead of the impending rules, stocking up for the coming months to avoid having to raise prices. “We hope this is all temporary,” Ganev said. If the tariff war continues, Ganev said that the Toronto branch gallery would have to “aggressively” expand the inventory from European artists and Canadian artists in their program.
Canada’s tariffs include both art (paintings, drawings, and other works executed by hand) and photographs. It is not clear if the U.S. intends to tax art. Trump included art when he imposed a 25-percent tariff on China during his first term. (Former President Joe Biden dropped it to 7.5 percent). The Art Dealers Association of America did not respond to a request for comment on the tariffs.
In November, a painting by Canadian artist Emily Carr went under the hammer for $250,000 at Heffel auction house in Toronto. Image: Heffel.
While the Canadian art market is small relative to other Western nations, it includes international communities of collectors and private dealers in its major hubs—Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver—and a variety of institutions across the country. Given Canada’s geographic spread, its metropolises are in some cases closer to U.S. cities than to other major Canadian cities, making trade and exchange below the 49th parallel appealing.
Canada’s most prominent art fair, Art Toronto, takes place each October and reliably includes a cohort of U.S. galleries. That may change. Mia Nielsen, its director, was doing gallery tours and studio visits in Mexico City in early February, as Trump’s first deadline for tariffs against Canada and Mexico loomed. “The climate in Mexico City was very collaborative,” she said, mentioning that peers there are “also looking for alternatives to the U.S. market.”
This year, Mexico City dealer and curator Karen Huber will oversee a special section of Art Toronto dedicated to new galleries from Mexico, as well as Central and South America. Nielsen said she is thrilled to be “expanding our connections.” The fair also is working with London-based curator Zoé Whitley on a special exhibition that will incorporate artists from the U.K. and Europe.
A view from Art Toronto. Courtesy Art Toronto.
Nielsen said that, with Canadian tariffs in effect, Canadian collectors and institutions are going to be far less likely to acquire works by American artists and from U.S. galleries. If the tariffs return in April, she said, some collectors would forgo cultural destinations like New York and Miami in favor of, say, London, Berlin, and Mexico City.
Kenneth Montague, a Toronto art collector and curator, said he will “continue my collecting focus on acquiring works by Canadian artists—something I’ve done since starting the Wedge Collection in 1997. Beyond the obvious patriotic gesture, it’s essential that Canadian artists are supported at home first, as we need to protect our own in this difficult moment.”
Fair Trade
The U.S. art market is the largest in the world, and Canadian dealers rely on regional fairs in the U.S. Some 76 participated in at least 28 U.S. fairs in 2024, according to the dealers’ association, and 14 U.S. spaces participated in Canadian fairs. With tariffs in place, one “can assume that the purchasing of art across the border will be suppressed, as well as a possible absence of Canadian dealers at U.S. art fairs,” Sinclair, the association’s director, said.
Dealers are weighing their options. One based in Toronto said that they may focus on fairs beyond the U.S. or exhibit artists based in the U.S. or Europe when they do attend U.S. fairs. Wil Aballe, of Wil Aballe Art Projects is based in Vancouver, said he hit pause on U.S. art fairs. The gallery has been focusing on shows and art fairs in Europe, largely in Belgium and Germany. “We hope to continue working with our peers there so as to maintain the international nature of the gallery’s program,” he said. “This is not a light decision, as we have had terrific American collectors who primarily buy from our gallery at [U.S.] fairs.”
Simon Cole, who runs Cooper Cole in Toronto, has many American clients and deep relationships with institutions in the country, and two of his artists, Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill and Maureen Gruben, will be included in the upcoming Santa Fe International, curated by Cecilia Alemani. However, depending on what happens next in the ongoing trade dispute, he may also stop doing U.S. fairs, he said, focusing instead on fairs in Europe or elsewhere. “To be honest, I feel a little put off by spending any business [or] tourist dollars in the U.S. at the moment, especially in states like Florida where local politics already seem to work in opposition to the gallery’s ethics and humanity in general.”
Sara Cwynar solo presentation at Post Fair, Santa Monica, 2025. Courtesy of Cooper Cole, Toronto.
If Trump’s tariffs return and Canada’s protective measures stay in place, Abale said that many in the industry will face increased costs for shipping and crating works, since wood and gas prices would likely rise as a result of a trade war.
Daniel Faria, who has a gallery in Toronto, said that he still plans to take part in Independent in New York in May. “We are taking it day by day to see how it plays out,” he said. “But we certainly think of the U.S. market as an important part of our business.” He wants to “see how the dust settles because it’s hard to know how long the tariffs will last and if they will change.”
Daniel Faria Gallery at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024. Works by June Clark, Stephanie Comilang, and Iris Häussler. Photo: Silvia Ros
Clara Puton, associate director at the Montreal gallery Pangée, said that participating in fairs is “crucial” for Canadian artists seeking institutional exposure and market success. The gallery is in discussions with Canadian colleagues, and she also said a collaborative spirit with artists and galleries in the U.S. is something “we will strive to maintain.” They plan to attend NADA New York in the spring. “Considering the speed by which this administration makes decisions,” Puton said, “it’s important that we continue to plan our regular and long-term strategy.”
And there is more to consider than bottom lines, Doucet, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery director, said. “Cultural exchange between Canada and the U.S. is really important to Canadians. It always has been. Relationships among cultural practitioners, institutional relationships are very meaningful.”
