Ontario Premier Doug Ford is telling Canadians not to buy any of the thousands of Chinese-made electric vehicles set to begin entering the country every year as the province’s auto sector struggles to come to terms with a new trade deal.
During a recent trip to China, Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to massively lower tariffs on 49,000 Chinese-made EVs annually in exchange for a softening of China’s duties on agriculture.
The agreement has been lambasted by Ford, which says it puts thousands of auto sector jobs at risk in Ontario’s fledgling EV industry.
“Boycott the Chinese-made EV vehicles,” the premier declared. “Support the companies that support us.”
Ford suggested choosing to buy a Chinese electric vehicle, which are generally substantially cheaper than domestic alternatives, would undermine local jobs.
“I would discourage anyone from buying a Chinese vehicle,” he said. “If they decide to do it, at what cost? Is it the cost to your neighbour down the street who’s working in the auto sector? He’s not going to have — or she’s not going to have — a job.”
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The premier said Canada had given China concessions in a deal that offered little to his province.
“In exchange for opening Canada up to this flood of cheap Chinese vehicles, the federal government got nothing — absolutely nothing — in return for Canadian autoworkers,” Ford said.
The premier, who has touted his close relationship with Carney, said the prime minister still hadn’t called him to discuss the deal.
“Where was the phone call from the prime minister? It takes about three seconds to make a phone call or a text message,” the premier said.
Ford stood with auto sector and union leaders at Queen’s Park on Wednesday to again protest against the deal, although he didn’t unveil new policies to protect the auto sector.
“We are in the fight of our lives here. Fending off Trump’s tariffs and that fight just got a little harder,” Unifor national president Lana Payne told reporters, adding the Canada-China trade deal was a “hard pill to swallow.”
Flavio Volpe, president of the automotive parts manufacturers’ association, said the 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles were roughly equivalent to losing one shift at an Ontario auto facility.
He said one shift can employ roughly 1,000 workers with as many as 5,000 auto supply jobs.
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