My mother started Hemisphere Freight in Toronto in 1985. It’s a customs brokerage firm that helps clients manage duties, taxes and tariffs when shipping across the Canada-U.S. border. My brother Charles and I took over in 2013, and we later created a sister company called CGL Transport that connects clients with trucking providers. We work with a huge range of customers: companies that make noise-barrier panels, media conglomerates shipping telecommunications equipment, food providers and more. Most delivery services don’t understand customs like we do, so having the two companies under one roof is a big advantage for us. CGL has been successful; we’ve grown 50 per cent every year since we started, and we’re on track for $1.5 million in freight bookings this year.

Like any new business, we’ve faced headwinds: some harsh winter weather has delayed shipments, and we’ve had to manage new Canadian government mandates that require clients to get registered with a new accounting portal for duties and taxes. But all that was nothing compared to Trump’s announcement of tariffs on Canadian goods. Eighty per cent of our companies’ business depends on cross-border trade. I thought our entire model was doomed. My initial reaction was simply, “Is this it? Do we........

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