Whitehorn Capital's Engineering, Environmental & Consulting Industry Report presents performance trends and transaction activity observed in this sector in Canada. All financial data has been sourced from YCharts.
As of Sep. 30, 2026.
Whitehorn tracks two indexes. The Whitehorn Engineering Index includes professional engineering consulting firms whereas the Engineering-related Services Index includes companies that specialize in related services including construction, environmental, and project management.
Source: YCharts. Market data as of Sep. 30, 2026.
If you lead an engineering consulting firm in Canada, the steel in the projects you design may carry a bigger tariff than the finished parts shipped in from abroad. Here is how that happens, and what it means for your clients, your projects and your firm.
Percent added to the item's cost at the border
Rates as of September 2026. Canada charges only one steel surtax per product, so these do not stack. Some finished steel goods from the U.S. are also on Canada's September 8 list and pay more than 25%. Check the rate for the materials you specify.
On separate occasions, we spoke privately about tariffs with the owners of three machining shops in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. These are the kinds of industrial clients many Canadian engineering firms design for and work alongside. All three were frustrated with the current rules, and all three asked a version of the same question. Why pay a tariff on raw steel brought into Canada, when a finished steel part made offshore can come in for less, or for nothing?
At Whitehorn Capital, we dug into the rules to find out. If your firm designs, specifies or manages projects that use steel, here is what we found.
Each step made sense on its own. Put together, they hit the steel your clients buy the hardest.
Red dots raised costs for Canadian manufacturers. Green dots gave some relief.
Canada adds a 25% tariff on $12.6 billion of U.S. steel.
Canada limits steel from overseas. Steel over the limit pays a 50% tariff.
Canada drops most tariffs on U.S. goods. The steel tariff stays.
First 25% tariff on some finished steel products. Overseas steel limits get tighter.
The tariff break for manufacturers ended Jan. 31. They now pay the full tariff on U.S. steel.
Ottawa waives the tariff on more U.S. steel that Canada doesn't make.
Canada matches U.S. tariffs on $27.6 billion of U.S. goods. Steel is on that list at 50%.
From June to December 2025, Canada put limits on raw steel from overseas, while most finished steel products faced no new tariff at all. Then in December, Ottawa tightened those limits further, narrowing where your clients and contractors can buy without paying a penalty.
The limit is a share of what each country shipped to Canada in 2024
What this means for project procurement: if a country without a trade deal shipped 100 tonnes of steel to Canada in 2024, only 20 tonnes now come in at the normal rate. Once that is used up, the next order for your project pays a 50% tariff.
These limits apply to raw steel from overseas. Raw steel from the U.S. and Mexico has no volume limit at all. Instead, U.S. raw steel pays Canada's tariff on every tonne. Mexican raw steel pays no tariff and has no limit.
Same finished part. Same Canadian project. Two very different tariff bills, and only one of them lands on the Canadian supply chain your designs rely on.
Finished steel goods on Ottawa's lists, such as fasteners and building parts, do pay. Parts outside the lists, including many machined components, come in free.
If the Canadian shop sells that same part to a U.S. customer instead, it gets hit a second time. The U.S. charges its own tariffs at its border, up to 50% on steel goods. That is the double squeeze owners keep describing to us. A tariff on the steel coming in, and a tariff on the product going out. For engineering firms, it shows up in cost estimates, procurement advice and which suppliers can still compete for your projects.
The owners we spoke with are not alone. Three other privately held Canadian manufacturers have described the same problem publicly, in their own words, as reported in the news. If your firm serves industrial clients, you will likely recognize it.
Saskatoon. Mining equipment.
Bit Service buys more raw steel from the U.S. than the company sells back into the U.S. So Canada's tariffs cost Bit Service more than the U.S. tariffs do.
Management spent two weeks stocking up on American steel before the September 2026 tariff increase.
Scott Bahr, CEO
Global News, Sept. 2026
Winnipeg. Steel wire parts for ice rinks.
U.S. tariffs raise the price of Hunter Wire's rink products for its American customers. The company also has no choice but to buy some of its steel from the U.S., so it now pays Canada's tariff on that steel too.
The president's first choice for government help would be no Canadian tariff on that steel at all.
David Koss, president
CBC News, Aug. 2026
Tillsonburg. Pipe parts.
Wellmaster needs a specialty steel that no Canadian mill makes. The company still had to pay Canada's tariff on it, a tariff meant to push buyers toward Canadian steel that doesn't exist here.
After Wellmaster and industry groups pushed for a fix, Ottawa waived the tariff on more of these steel types in June 2026.
James White, CEO
The Logic, May 2026
Businesses can ask Ottawa to waive the tariff on steel that can't be bought in Canada. By spring 2026, most of those requests were still waiting for an answer, and so were the projects that depended on them.
Requests to Finance Canada, March 2025 to April 2026
requests filed in about a year. Before the trade war, Finance Canada got only a handful a year.
Ottawa widened relief for some steel in June 2026. That helps, but businesses still have to apply and wait. It is worth checking whether the grades in your specifications are now covered.
Far more Canadians work in the businesses that use steel, the same businesses that commission and build the projects your firm designs, than in the mills that make it.
Number of workers
Steel jobs: Canadian Steel Producers Association. Metal parts and products: Prime Minister's Office backgrounder, November 2025.
Share of companies saying each set of tariffs hurt them a lot
Canadian Construction Association, Winter 2026 Economic Insights report.
When steel costs more to bring in than finished parts, the rules protect the steel mill and squeeze the businesses that turn steel into products and projects. Owner-led firms feel it first, because they have the least room to absorb it.
This part is our opinion. We believe Canada can back its steel mills, its manufacturers and the engineering firms that design for them at the same time, and that these five changes would go a long way. If they match what you are seeing in your own firm, they are worth raising with your MP and your industry association.
A few questions we would be asking if we led an engineering firm today.
Notable Western Canadian engineering, environmental and consulting transactions this past quarter.
| Date | Acquirer | Acquirer HQ | Target | Target HQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) | Vancouver, BC | Velocity Geomatics | Grande Prairie, AB |
| Acquisition of drone-based geomatics services provider for environmental and regulatory compliance within the oil and gas industry. | ||||
| July 2026 | Triton Environmental Consultants | Vancouver, BC | Arletta Environmental Consulting | Calgary, AB |
| Acquisition of environmental consulting firm assisting with O&G environmental liability management and asset retirement to complement multidisciplinary practice. | ||||
| Aug. 2026 | Nichols Environmental + Engineering | Edmonton, AB | Low Impact Environmental | Calgary, AB |
| Acquisition of environmental planning, regulatory approvals, environmental compliance, and biophysical services provider to complement expertise and broaden service offerings. | ||||
| Aug. 2026 | Kintera | North Vancouver, BC | Terralogix Solutions | Calgary, AB |
| Acquisition of upstream oil and gas environmental management, reclamation and remediation services provider to expand environmental capabilities and strengthen Western Canadian presence. | ||||
| Aug. 2026 | Stantec (TSX:STN) | Edmonton, AB | Niche | Sydney, Australia |
| Acquisition of 200-personnel environmental consultancy and its subsidiary, Ausecology, to strengthen ability to advance critical infrastructure and development projects while protecting the environment in Australia. | ||||
| Aug. 2026 | TIC Solutions | Hollywood, FL | GeoVerra | Edmonton, AB |
| Acquisition of geomatics and land surveying firm to expand geospatial solutions across Canada. | ||||
| Aug. 2026 | ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) | Vancouver, BC | Cogswell Engineering | Dartmouth, NS |
| Acquisition of full-service civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering company operating across five provinces to enhance offerings. | ||||
| Sep. 2026 | EllisDon | Mississauga, ON | Hardline Engineering | Calgary, AB |
| Acquisition of provider of specialized power system engineering, interconnections, transmission, distribution, and substation design with over 100 personnel. | ||||
| Sep. 2026 | Mainstay Engineers | Saskatoon, SK | RCH Consulting | Regina, SK |
| Acquisition of engineering design, management consulting, and contract staffing firm with 25 personnel to strengthen engineering capabilities and expand depth of experience in the mining and industrial sectors. | ||||
| Sep. 2026 | Englobe | Laval, QC | Reinbold Engineering Group | Calgary, AB |
| Acquisition of mechanical engineering firm with over 90 personnel with expertise in building systems, energy modelling, commissioning, sustainable design, and building performance. | ||||
Whitehorn Capital provides sale of business, financing and merger & acquisition advisory services to Western Canadian engineering, environmental & consulting companies. To discuss this quarter's findings, reach our team below.
All financial data has been sourced from YCharts. This report is prepared by Whitehorn Capital for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice. Figures may include forecasts and are subject to change without notice.
Sale of business, merger & acquisition, and financing advisory for Western Canadian business owners navigating growth, transition, and succession. Helping clients achieve their transaction objectives since 2008.
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Calgary, AB T2T 6S1
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