Pedestrians on Yonge St. in Toronto on March 3, 2021.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail

Allan Lanthier is a retired partner of an international accounting firm and has been an adviser to both the Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency.

Donald Trump has started a global trade war targeting both friends and foes, with a special focus on Canada: Canadian business will have to react.

In addition to finding new markets, Canadian businesses must now compete even more fiercely against U.S. companies for investment and jobs. Clearly, larger businesses will do most of the heavy lifting. Which raises the question of why small firms – not large – are singled out for so many tax breaks in Canada.

The carbon price rebate is only the most recent example. In its 2024 budget, the federal government announced it would send fuel charge rebates of more than $2.5-billion to small and medium-sized businesses but nothing to larger ones. Now, the government has said it would go even further and make the........

© The Globe and Mail