U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on imports of Canadian ice hockey sticks, a measure that will take effect in roughly a month.
The duty targets a sector that has been shrinking for years, as the once‑dominant market for hand‑crafted wooden sticks has been eclipsed by ultra‑lightweight composite models produced abroad.
Canada now operates only a single major manufacturer of wooden sticks, Roustan Hockey, which produces roughly 400,000 units annually and ships about 100,000 of them to the United States each year.
Industry observers say the tariff will have limited practical impact, because wooden sticks are already a niche product; most players — from professional leagues to youth programs — favor composite alternatives that offer greater power and puck control.
Fiorenzo Arcadi of Toronto Hockey Repair, a shop that services local teams, noted a clear downturn in demand for wooden equipment, reflecting the broader shift away from the material.
The policy underscores how trade measures can intersect with sports technology, even as the underlying market dynamics point to a continued decline in domestic wooden‑stick production.
The Last Wooden Factory
Roustan Hockey, based in Ontario, has been the sole remaining producer of wooden sticks in the country, a fact that underscores the narrow footprint of the trade.
While the tariff may raise costs for a handful of Canadian exporters, analysts expect the overall market impact to be modest, given the already limited scale of wooden‑stick manufacturing.