Cayley-Galt Tariff

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The Cayley-Galt Tariff of 1858 was the first protective tariff in Canadian history. It imposed duties on imported manufactured goods of 20% and a duty of 10% on partially manufactured goods in an attempt to spur domestic manufacturing industries.

The tariff caused immediate resentment among both the British and Americans. The anger of the Americans played an important role in their 1866 repeal of the Reciprocity Treaty that had led to free trade in natural resources. The tariff was only a foretaste of the much more complete system of protection set up under the National Policy of 1879.