Canadian factory activity stayed low in April, with a preliminary report showing a sharp fall in sales led by drops in petroleum, coal, and motor vehicles. At the same time, a group of visiting U.S. senators urged Canada to “give us another chance” on trade and tourism, seeking to shore up ties strained by recent tariff disputes.

According to Statistics Canada’s early estimate, manufacturing sales fell 2.0 % in April from March. The agency based this figure on responses covering about 59 % of its usual monthly survey. More complete results are due on June 13.

In March, manufacturing sales had already dipped by 1.4 %, the largest drop in seven months following a 0.2 % decrease in February. Analysts said the weakness reflected the first round of U.S. import tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, which took effect late in the previous quarter. Lower metal sales after four months of gains were a significant factor.

That same report showed inventories slid 0.7 % in March after two months of buildup. But new orders were up 1.0 % from February, suggesting some pickup in demand.

Additional data from S&P Global painted a gloomier picture. The Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell for the third month in a row, dropping to 45.3 in April from 46.3 in March. Any reading below 50 signals contraction, and April’s reading was the weakest since May 2020. Both output and new orders continued to weaken.

US senators have been urging Canada to refresh tourism and trade relations

Against this backdrop, five U.S. senators made a rare trip to Ottawa last weekend. They met Friday with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has said he wants a fresh economic and security partnership with the United States despite what he called an end to the era of “deep integration.”

Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told Mercedes Stephenson on The West Block that stronger ties were vital. “We have to do this stuff together,” he said. “We’ll be better at it if we’re friends than if we’re just tolerating one another.… I’m just here to say thank you, and then to encourage Canadians to take another look and give us another chance.”

Relations between the two countries have chilled since President Donald Trump imposed broad tariffs on Canadian imports and suggested Canada could become the 51st U.S. state. Tourism has taken a hit, too. Statistics Canada reported four straight months of steep year-over-year declines in U.S. visitors to Canada, and some U.S. states have responded with ad campaigns to send Canadians back.

Virginia’s Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said bookings by Canadian tourists to his state are “down significantly.” He and his fellow senators wanted to ease worries in Canada. “We were aware, because we all have great friends in Canada, that there was a lot of anxiety about, well, gosh, what do Americans think of us?” Kaine said. “The five of us wanted to come to say, ‘Look, we love Canada.’”