Razor-thin margins: Syrian refugee's Canadian barbershop feels the pinch of Trump's tariffs

The sign on Ahmad Fakhourji’s newly opened barbershop is old and faded. Looking at it from the car park of this shopping plaza on the outskirts of Mississauga, Canada, with its dated font and colours, he insists that it needs to be replaced.

“The sign is old, not new," he tells The National. “There are a lot of things I did not complete because I exceeded my budget. With the new prices, I went over.”

The humble exterior is in stark contrast to what Mr Fakhourji has achieved so far inside his shop. Several plush counters have been fitted with mirrors and lights, where customers sit for a hair cut or beard trim. Leather seats are available for those waiting, while a large flat-screen TV shows music videos.

The barber snips away at a customer’s hair while they chat in Arabic, every now and then smiling when they mention the name of US President Donald Trump.

Tariffs have been the talk of Canada ever since Mr Trump slapped a 25 per cent tax on many Canadian exports. Ottawa has responded with its own retaliatory tariffs, and the tit-for-tat measures threaten to increase costs for businesses in both countries.

Mr Fakhourji says he first heard about the tariffs from customers after opening his shop, Clip & Chill, in March, only weeks after Mr Trump announced his new trade policy.

“I didn’t really grasp the consequences of this until I had deeper conversations with my clients,” he says. “I understood the situation might become difficult.”

Mr Fakhourji points to one of his shiny new salon chairs. He says its price was listed as $700 when he first looked at it. But after his shop was renovated and he went to buy the chair, it was $850. The seller, he says, blamed increased costs associated with the new tariffs.

“The cost of many things has changed,” he says. “The shaving machine I bought for $90 is now $156 on Amazon … this wasn’t really in my calculations.”

Mr Fakhourji grew up in Aleppo, Syria, but always dreamed of moving to Canada. “It’s a dream for anybody in the Middle East," he says. “When I was a boy I would think things would be great there.”

The outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 forced him to flee to Lebanon, where he lived for about 12 years and started a family. But he didn’t give up on his ambition.

“I never stopped thinking about it,” he says. “I got in touch with a friend who is here and asked if he could help me reach Canada.”

“He sponsored me and I was able to come after a very long journey.”

Life was hard when Mr Fakhourji first arrived about two years ago. He found the cold weather to be shocking and couldn’t speak any English, while feeling the burden of providing for his wife and two children.

He had to work hard in his new city, which makes up part of the Greater Toronto Area, home to more than six million residents, driving Ubers on the side while he obtained a hairstylist licence to practise his trade in Canada.

“I started working more and more as a barber. My dream became to open this shop,” he says.

Since opening Clip & Chill, business has been growing, but conditions are also “tough”, Mr Fakhourji says. He has begun to develop a client base and hires one extra hairdresser to help him out on weekends.

But Mr Fakhourji worries that spiralling costs amid the trade war could force him to increase his own prices.

“I’ve tried so hard to keep my prices down, since I’m a new business, but not too low, because of my expenses,” he says. “This worries me, but I’ll do whatever I can to keep going.”

“I’ll fight to make this business succeed and become the best barbershop in the area.”