Pierre Poilievre said on Monday that the decade-long decline in Canada’s auto manufacturing is attributable to successive Liberal governments, initially under Justin Trudeau and now under Mark Carney.
“Ten years of Liberals,” the Conservative opposition leader wrote on X, as a caption to an excerpt from a CBC report that said vehicle production in the country had dropped to half in the past decade.
“In 2016, 2.3 million cars were assembled in the country; by 2025, that figure fell to 1.2 million,” the report read.
Over the weekend, Poilievre called for a tariff-free auto pact with the United States while pledging to scrap both the Liberal government’s Chinese EV import quota and its electric vehicle mandate.
During the announcement, the Conservative leader said that, with the auto pact, “we want to double our production to two million vehicles.”
“Anybody who says that’s not possible, remember that’s what we were making 10 years ago,” he added then.
Auto production slumped to pre-pandemic levels despite demand remaining flat, as warned by the Bank of Montreal (BMO) earlier this week.
In early February, Carney’s government announced several measures to counter the decline in manufacturing, alongside new policies on electric vehicle purchases.
These included supporting workers who had been laid off recently and pushing for international automakers’ renewed investment in the country, despite the global trade scenario.
US-Canada Auto Pact
Poilievre unveiled a full plan for the auto industry in Windsor this Sunday, after meeting with senior executives from GM and Ford in Detroit over the weekend.
The centrepiece is a dollar-for-dollar production-to-sales matching rule: for every car produced in Canada, the same manufacturer would earn the right to sell a car from a CUSMA partner duty-free.
Summarising the plan, Poilievre said, “For each car manufactured in Canada, the manufacturer can sell to Canada, free of tariff, a car that comes from a partner of our association with Mexico and the United States.”
Brian Kingston, President and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA) — the lobby group representing Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis in Canada — endorsed the auto pact proposal.
According to Kingston, the plan recognises that North American integration — not diversification toward China — is the foundation of the country’s auto industry.
China-Canada Deal
The Conservative leader also called for a ban on Chinese software, matching the US.
“We will protect the North American supply chains by keeping the 75% rule in place, harmonise the North American cybersecurity rules by banning Chinese software, and align with our partners on the tariff against China to counter unfair trade and increase our negotiating leverage,” he stated.
The plan would allow for a harmonised North American cybersecurity and data standard, Poilievre said.
His concerns had also been echoed by Conservative representative Raquel Dancho, who raised national security objections to the deal last week.
The auto pact proposed by the opposition represents a direct reversal of the Carney government’s approach.
In January, Ottawa signed a trade deal with Beijing that allows up to 49,000 Chinese-built EVs into Canada annually at a 6.1% tariff — down from the 100% surtax imposed in October 2024.
The Conservatives would scrap that quota and align Canada’s tariffs on Chinese goods with those of the United States.
International Reliance
Canada is increasingly seeking international trade partners beyond the US, driven by rising tariffs and uncertainties surrounding the upcoming USMCA renegotiation.
Besides China, the country has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea.
The Industry Ministry is also leveraging a submarine contract to secure auto industry investments.
“No one with credibility in the auto sector has come forward to agree with Mark Carney that he can replace the United States by building electric vehicles for overseas markets,” Poilievre said. “There is no credible voice in the sector that lends any support to that Liberal illusion.”
He noted that the Americans buy 90% of the automobiles Canada makes, and that nearly all remaining production is sold domestically.
“There are almost no overseas exports of Canadian automobiles today, and that cannot be changed on a dime,” he said.
BYD, Chery, and Geely are all preparing to enter the Canadian market under the current quota by the end of this year.
Five Major Automakers
The CBC report shared by Poilievre on Monday also showed that Detroit automakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have reduced their share of production to 23% in 2025 from 56% in 2016.
On the contrary, Japanese manufacturers Honda and Toyota increased their share from 44% to 77%.
The five represent Canada’s major international automakers producing domestically.
When the United States introduced tariffs last year, followed by Canada’s retaliatory duties, several automakers began shifting production back to US plants rather than relying on Canadian facilities.
Over the weekend, Poilievre listed a series of layoffs since auto tariffs took effect in April 2025, including Stellantis Brampton (3,000), GM Oshawa (700), GM CAMI (1,000).
After General Motors and Stellantis cancelled or reduced their Canadian production plans, the government cut their annual remission quotas — by 24.2% for GM and 50% for Stellantis.
On the other hand, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly hinted last week that, following their application, a Japanese automaker could be granted an increased remission quota.
The remission framework allows Canadian automakers to import a set number of US-assembled vehicles tariff-free, provided they maintain domestic production levels and follow through on planned investments.
Since announcing its auto strategy in February, the government has opened consultations on strengthening the framework to ‘reward companies that produce and invest in Canada.’
Vehicle assemblers, parts producers, importers, workers’ associations, and unions have until April 13 to submit feedback on potential changes to tariff remission for surtaxes on US-made passenger vehicles.
