Even as Trump’s tariffs bite, homegrown barriers still push prices up

Beyond the grocery sector, many economists and competition analysts point to problem industries that directly affect Canadian wallets, such as airlines, telecommunications services and banking, all of which are protected to some degree from foreign competition by legislation. There are also a range of professions that are protected by largely unknown barriers, and “hidden” industries that play only into supply chains but affect consumers and the economy nevertheless. And then there’s the American giants, more difficult to influence, that dominate critical technological sectors, such as phones (Apple), streaming services (Netflix), social media (Facebook), online retail (Amazon) and search (Alphabet’s Google).