Ontario Premier Doug Ford has made no secret of Canada’s new electric vehicle deal with China, saying on Friday that Chinese manufacturers are gaining a foothold in the country’s auto market at the expense of the country’s workers.
“The federal government is attracting large quantities of cheap, Chinese-made electric vehicles without any real guarantee of equal or immediate investment in the Canadian economy, auto industry or supply chain,” Ford said in a statement shortly after news of the deal broke.
“Worse, by lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, this unbalanced deal could close Canadian automakers’ access to the U.S. market, our largest export destination, which would harm our economy and lead to job losses.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, a move that marks a major shift in relations between the two countries.
Carney said he expected China to reduce tariffs on Canadian canola to 15% by March as part of the deal. Starting in March and until at least the end of 2026, China will no longer impose tariffs on Canadian canola meal, lobster, crab and peas.
In return, Canada will allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to enter the market with a 6.1% tariff.
Ontario’s auto industry employs more than 90,000 workers and produced more than 1.3 million vehicles in 2024, according to provincial data.
Ford says Fed should focus on Ontario auto industry
Ford said Carney and the federal government will need to “urgently” support the province’s auto industry in order to resolve what he calls a “chaotic situation.”
The prime minister went on to call on Carney to scrap the electric vehicle mandate, harmonize regulations with trading partners and scrap federal fees which he claimed increased the cost of making cars and “drove away investment”.
“Instead of importing Chinese-made vehicles, the federal government should focus on working with Ontario to bring investment and jobs to factories in Brampton, Oshawa, Ingersoll and across the province where assembly lines are at risk or have left the country,” Ford said.
“I urge Prime Minister Carney to work with Ontario to strengthen, not weaken, Canada’s auto industry.”
Ford told reporters at an unrelated news conference in Toronto on Friday that he did not consult with Carney before the deal was struck, claiming the prime minister did not consult with the automaker.
Ford also said he didn’t think news of the deal would go down well in negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“It wasn’t thought through, it wasn’t consulted, it was a knee-jerk reaction and it’s going to be a big, big problem,” Ford said.
NDP accuses PM of doing nothing, then complains
Peter Frise, a professor of mechanical and automotive engineering at the University of Windsor, said 49,000 vehicles represents about 3 per cent of the Canadian market and is the number of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ Windsor assembly plant in 30 to 35 days.
He also said that the current average purchase price of a car in Canada is about 40,000 Canadian dollars.
The deal covers vehicles priced at $33,000 or less, and other vehicles sold at that price have been manufactured overseas.
“It’s not going to compete head-to-head with anything in Canada, especially in the electric vehicle market,” Fritz told CBC Windsor.
Jeff Gray, president of the local union representing autoworkers at a GM plant in Oshawa, Ont., said he was still digesting the news as details of the deal were fresh.
The president of Unifor Local 222 went on to say that the auto industry does appear to be “harmed by our federal government.”
“It doesn’t make us feel good about allowing these Chinese electric vehicles, which are heavily subsidized by the communist government, to come into our country,” Gray told Radio-Canada.
“This is absolutely going to have an impact on Ontario’s auto industry and we need to continue to work hard to maintain these good-paying jobs.”
NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused Ford of taking no action on the deal, then complained about “dominating headlines.” (Alex Lupul/CBC)
Meanwhile, Ontario Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles lashed out at Ford and Carney in a statement Friday morning, calling the news a “devastating blow” to the province’s auto industry.
“It’s the same playbook as Doug Ford; do nothing and then complain and grab the headlines,” Styles said. “Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe flew to China with the Prime Minister to defend the province’s canola growers.
“Meanwhile, Ford sits at home and leaves Ontario workers with no one to fight for them. If you’re not at the table, you’re not fit to be prime minister.”