Canadian taxi and ride-hailing companies are calling on Toronto city council to be included in efforts to promote local businesses.

In an open letter, Canadian companies Beck Taxi, Co-op Cabs, Toronto 1 Taxi, and Hovr called to be added to the city's recently introduced "Buy Local, Buy Canadian" campaign amid the trade war with the U.S.

"U.S. tech companies, among the Trump administration's biggest backers, have taken over too many Canadian markets, reshaping our laws and regulations to build monopoly power. The ride-hailing industry is a prime example," wrote the companies in the letter.

They claim that U.S. companies operating in Toronto, like Uber and Lyft, have increased congestion, taken money from the TTC, lowered earnings for drivers and imposed surge pricing models on travellers.

The letter argues that "app-based ride-hailing and payments are now offered by many local taxi companies as well as Hovr, a new Canadian ride-hailing platform."

To do that, the companies say Toronto council must "adopt partnership, procurement and staff reimbursement policies that commit to patronizing domestic and local vehicle-for-hire ride sourcing" and "ban the use of U.S.-based ride sourcing apps on city-issued property or for city business."

It remains to be seen what the city might do in response. Interestingly, a cap on the number of Uber drivers in the city was proposed last year, but Mayor Olivia Chow backed off after a legal threat from the ride-hailing company.

In a report, the city said the "objective of the cap is to mitigate the risk of worsening traffic congestion, increased emissions and impact to public transit use by ceasing further growth in the number of PTC drivers, while balancing considerations for driver equity and user mobility."

Chow ultimately sent the report back to city staff to take more time to investigate a variety of elements, including the impact of ride-share drivers on traffic congestion, ride-share fare regulation and more.

Given Uber's response to that proposal, it remains to be seen how it might try to push back against this letter to encourage continued Toronto ridership.