Hamilton is known locally as “Steeltown,“ with expansive industrial plants dominating the view from the main bridge that leads into the city.
Trump's decision to double steel and aluminum tariffs to a crippling 50 percent did not come as a shock to those who have spent decades in the industry.
Lombardo's career spanned the era that saw automation and cheaper foreign product hollow out Hamilton's steel sector.
“I’m not a Trump supporter, but one thing I like (about) what he said, he wants to do things in-house. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,“ Lombardo, 69, told AFP.
Hamilton's steel industry was born in the early part of the last century, hitting its peak in the decades following World War II, when the main local union, United Steelworkers Local 1005, counted more than 12,000 members.
Wells said he wasn't opposed to a future where Canadian producers serve Canadian demand and cross-border trade is reduced.
“We’ve been saying that for, like years, if not decades,“ Wells told AFP.
The union chief said he was encouraged by Prime Minister Mark Carney's pledge to counter Trump's trade war by boosting internal trade and ushering in an era of massive construction across Canada.
“It’s better late than never.”
But in the short term, Wells said there is cause for concern.
Those orders largely dried up when Trump imposed a blanket 25 percent tariff on all metal imports in March.
'The wrong foe'
“People are just pissed off that (Trump) keeps changing his mind and he’s playing chicken with the economy,“ Wells told AFP.
The Canadian Steel Producers Association, an industry group, said Wednesday that “at a 25 per cent tariff rate, we saw significant layoffs, curtailed investments and a significant drop of shipments to the United States.”
Throughout Trump's trade war, Canadian workers in targeted sectors -- notably auto and metal -- have voiced frustration over the president's decision to harm a bilateral trade relationship widely seen as mutually beneficial.
Tony Mclaughlin, who has worked for Stelco for 47 years, told AFP he “always thought we’d be exempt,“ from tariffs.”
“Maybe that’s the big plan.”
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