Navigating U.S. Policy Shifts in Canadian Advocacy Work

When U.S. trade policy changes. whether it’s a new round of tariffs, rising inflation, or federal funding freezes, the shockwaves are felt far beyond its borders. For Canadian non-profits in the Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) sectors, these macroeconomic shifts quietly but critically affect how we deliver care, reach communities, and sustain impact.

Sector-Specific Impacts

Harm Reduction Supply Chains Are Vulnerable
In most provinces and territories, harm reduction supplies like naloxone kits, sterile syringes, and safer use materials are sourced and distributed by provincial health authorities — not directly by non-profit organizations. However, these frontline organizations rely heavily on timely and consistent distribution of these supplies to maintain service delivery. New tariffs on medical goods or increases in global transportation costs (often driven by oil price surges) can strain procurement systems at the provincial level, leading to delays, shortages, or rationing that directly impact community-based programs. When supply chains are disrupted, even upstream, organizations are often left to stretch limited stock, field community frustration, or pause services altogether.

Cross-Border Training Resources Dry Up
U.S. agencies and orgs (e.g., National Harm Reduction Coalition, SAMHSA) provide toolkits, evidence syntheses, and training that Canadian orgs frequently reference. When budgets are slashed or priorities shift under U.S. administrations, these resources may be removed, retracted, or restricted, disproportionately impacting smaller orgs without in-house policy or research teams.

U.S. Right-Wing Ideology is Being Imported into Canadian Drug Policy
Beyond economics, there’s a dangerous ideological import happening. U.S. narratives around “tough love,” coerced treatment, and punitive drug policy, emboldened by Trump-era rhetoric, are finding traction in Canada. Alberta’s Compassionate Intervention Act (Bill 53), which proposes involuntary treatment for people who use drugs, reflects this ideological shift. These policies echo U.S. models that have failed to reduce overdose rates and instead deepen stigma, criminalization, and harm.

Technology and Digital Infrastructure Costs Are Rising
Digital platforms like Zoom, Adobe, Canva, and Mailchimp, critical for communications, outreach, and service delivery, are U.S.-based and billed in U.S. dollars. As the Canadian dollar weakens against the U.S. dollar and inflation spikes, subscription costs climb. For small and mid-sized orgs, these increases aren’t minor, they cut into already lean communications budgets.

Strategic Communications in Unpredictable Times

What can MHSU organizations do?

Communicate the Global-Local Connection

Explain how international policy affects local outcomes. Whether it’s naloxone delays or inflated software costs, make the link clear in funder updates and public education efforts.

Create Resilient, Localized Narratives
Use communications to anchor your work in local stories and resist imported narratives that promote forced care or fear-based policy. Show what real, community-led, voluntary care looks like.

Invest in Flexible, Scenario-Based Strategy
Now is the time for communications planning that’s nimble and future-proof. Budget for currency fluctuations. Map your supply risks. And always have a messaging plan ready, for both funding shifts and policy threats.

Action Checklist to Build Communications Resilience in a Volatile Economy

• Audit your U.S.-based tools and suppliers: What’s vulnerable to price hikes or shipping delays?

• Review your comms budget with currency volatility in mind: Especially tools billed in USD.

• Prepare messaging for delays or shortages: Keep communities informed with clear, transparent updates.

• Localize your narratives: Reground your comms in Canadian values and community voices.

• Create a “Policy Impact” section in your stakeholder updates: Explain how foreign or ideological shifts affect your mission.

• Map alternative resource sources: Reduce dependency on U.S. systems by sourcing Canadian-based harm reduction suppliers, local training collectives, and/or mutual aid networks.

• Push back publicly on coercive policy trends: Use digital platforms to educate, myth-bust, and centre lived experience.

U.S. policy shifts are shaping our ecosystem, from the supplies in our outreach teams use to the language showing up in our legislation. But your organization’s power lies in how you respond, how you communicate, and how you lead with care.

At Catalyst Haven Digital Communications, we help MHSU organizations stay grounded and strategic in the face of uncertainty, with communications that connect, resist, and adapt. Ready to plan for what’s next? Reach out to us today: hello@catalysthaven.ca.