Coutts border blockade could have a negative impact on local, provincial economy, experts say

In just a few days protesters have cost the Canadian economy hundreds of millions of dollars, with the Coutts border blockade potentially impacting the local economy, says one expert.

According to Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge,“Lethbridge manufactures exported almost $1.4 billon of goods primarily to the U.S.A, the vast majority of those exports went via road or rail and through the Coutts border crossing, so if you think about that, simple math, it's about $3 million a day."

Truckers coming into Canada have had to reroute to border crossings in British Columbia. Lewington says with the added delay of supplies, the trickledown affect may also cause some employees to find themselves out of work.

“Many of those manufacturers, when they run out of supplies or they can't move product out of their warehouse, will have to throttle back on production and potentially lay people off. So, the real impact will be to people's pocketbooks as shifts get cancelled or hours get cut,” said Lewington.

When visiting grocery stores, you may not notice any products missing or empty shelves, but according to one professor in food distribution, that may not be the case if the blockades continue.

“As soon as you slow things down across the supply chain for a variety of reasons, strikes, weather, blockades, it will eventually cost more to produce anything, to distribute anything and of course, at the end of the day it will impact consumers,” said Sylvain Charlebois, the director of agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University.

With trucks not moving, food shipments could also spoil, including 150 truckloads of Canadian beef.

According to Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge,“Lethbridge manufactures exported almost $1.4 billon of goods primarily to the U.S.A, the vast majority of those exports went via road or rail and through the Coutts border crossing, so if you think about that, simple math, it's about $3 million a day."

BILLION DOLLAR BORDER

20,000 trucks pass through the Coutts border every month, creating a large part of the approximately $10 billion in trade between Canada and the U.S.

Peaceful protests and blockades have also been popping up across southern Alberta over the past few days making it inconvenient for those hauling goods.

Several road blocks set up by protesters in support of the freedom convoy have been periodically set up.

At the round-a-bout near Nobleford on Highway 23 and Highway 519, dozens of trucks, tractors and other farming equipment began slowing down traffic on Wednesday morning, trying to get their message across to those driving past. Motorists were able to get through the round-a-bout, but it was slow moving.

Then on Highway 2 just west of Fort Macleod at around noon, another group of protesters situated themselves on a bridge above the Oldman River impacting traffic in both directions.

One lane on each side of the two-lane bridge was blocked by large vehicles and RCMP were on scene to ensure traffic was able to pass through.

Despite the possible impact on the local economy, and quite possibly their own economic interests, organizers of the blockades said there’s no plan on leaving anytime soon.

“We plan to carry this on as long as it takes until we get all the mandates lifted and removed,” said James Oudshoorn, the organizer of the blockade near Nobleford.

Economists told CTV News that the blockades have cost the Canadian economy approximately $2 billion.