Canada’s federal government will establish an auto task force with Ontario to protect jobs and coordinate investment strategy, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced on Monday.
The announcement came after Joly and Ontario Premier Doug Ford held a closed-door meeting at the Ontario legislature.
Joly said she has also met with Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union representing more than 320,000 workers.
“We understand the pain that the auto workers are going through as they’re facing, the auto industry is facing real threats from US tariffs,” Joly said.
“At the same time there are many things we can control, and what we do with our manufacturing sector here in Ontario and across the country is certainly something we can make sure that we can control,” the Minister added.
The task force will focus on future strategic investments, protecting unionized workers, and ensuring trade works for workers, Joly said.
Ford said he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier in the day and had an “incredible, productive” conversation. The meeting came days after Ford called for a boycott of Chinese EVs.
China Meetings
Joly said she has already held meetings with several automakers, including Chinese manufacturers eyeing the Canadian market.
“I already had meetings with different automakers,” Joly said, naming Hyundai, Volkswagen, BYD, and Chery as examples.
“I’ve had these conversations, and will continue to have these conversations. I think we have to be not naive, but we also have to be open minded,”
Chery Automobile Co. is positioning itself to become the first Chinese automaker to sell mainstream passenger EVs in Canada.
Recruiters working on behalf of Chery have contacted Canadian auto industry professionals on LinkedIn about roles to support the company’s expansion, The Globe and Mail reported last week.
The messages indicate Chery is hiring for positions needed to build a Canadian sales operation from scratch, with some specifically mentioning the company’s Omoda and Jaecoo sub-brands.
While Western automakers including Tesla and Volvo Car manufacture vehicles in China for export to Canada, no homegrown Chinese car company has yet entered the Canadian passenger vehicle market.
EV Mandates Under Review
Asked about electrification policy, Joly indicated the government is reviewing its approach to EV mandates as part of broader auto sector discussions.
“We’re having conversations with EV mandates, but that’s why we’re creating also the auto task force to be able to continue to see how can we first make sure that we work on the future of car manufacturing,” Joly said.
“How does EV mandates come into is actually the conversations we’re having, and so we’ll have more to say in the coming weeks about that,” she added. “We can’t look at one policy, we have to look at everything that is affecting the auto workers.”
Toyota Reaffirms Commitment
Separately, Toyota Canada reaffirmed its commitment to its Canadian workforce on Monday amid uncertainty across the auto industry, CBC reported.
At a factory tour of its Woodstock, Ontario plant where production of the sixth-generation RAV4 SUV is underway, the company’s Manufacturing President Tim Hollander said the investment “is a significant demonstration of Toyota’s confidence in our people, our plants, and our manufacturing ecosystem.”
China Trade Deal
Prime Minister Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during Carney’s state visit to Beijing earlier this month that Canada will allow an annual import quota of up to 49,000 Chinese EVs at a 6.1% tariff rate, replacing the 100% duty imposed in 2024.
In exchange, China will reduce tariffs on Canadian canola.
Doug Ford has previously criticized the federal government’s decision to lower tariffs on Chinese EVs, warning the agreement gives Beijing a “foothold in the Canadian market” and puts the province’s auto industry at risk.
Ontario’s premier has also labeled Chinese EVs as “spy vehicles.”
