Canadian RV dealers threaten to cancel orders from U.S.

Last year was a tough year for the RV industry. With both wholesale and retail sales of new RVs down, particularly among motorhomes, there is pain all around. Now Canadian RV dealers, fed up with the thought of potentially paying tariffs on U.S.-built RVs, are beginning to cancel orders.

Dealers at show: Canada canceling U.S. RV orders

CTV News, a major Canadian media outlet, reported news that will doubtless trouble members of the RV Industry Association. Reporting on last weekend’s major RV show in London, Ontario, the outlet said, “Most dealers at this weekend’s RV Show in London plan to cancel all American-made orders if threatened tariffs proceed.”

While the potential of cancellations should worry American manufacturers, the reality is, some Canadian RV dealers have already killed orders. Andy Tomson, who owns the Can-Am RV dealership, told CTV, “Ourselves, we canceled $3 million in orders. Lots of dealers were similar.”

How much pain would RVIA manufacturers feel if all Canadian orders were scratched? Statistics indicate that 12% of the RVs that roll off American manufacturing lines are exported to Canada. While the RVIA has spun a bright future for 2025 sales, even a 10% market falloff would be disastrous to manufacturer bottom lines, and no doubt contribute to plenty of employee layoffs. Canada canceling U.S. RVs will hurt the industry, and people.

Will be hard to get a new RV if you’re a Canadian buyer

For Canadian RVers, the news of Canada canceling U.S. RV orders isn’t particularly great, either. Canadian RV manufacturers only produce 5% of RVs sold north of the U.S./Canada border. That may explain the high traffic and brisk sales at the London, Ontario, show. Dealers suggest Canadians are trying to beat the potential tariffs that the Canadian government says it will impose if the Trump administration imposes its own tariffs on Canadian imports.

Potential trade war

A potential trade war between the two neighboring countries is already creating plenty of anxiety. The RV industry is no doubt listening closely to warnings like the one that came from Don Ferguson, who owns the RV World dealership in St. Thomas. Ferguson told CTV, “We’ve told our manufacturers if the tariffs come in, don’t ship us any product that the U.S. tariffs apply. I mean our dollar is bad enough.”

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• For more information on tariffs and their effect on RVers, click here.

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