Federal and Ontario governments form task force to coordinate auto investment and labour protections.
Task force responds to EV market changes and Canada’s trade deal with China on vehicle imports.
Joly confirms talks with global automakers, including Chinese firms BYD and Chery, about market entry.
The federal government is in the midst of creating a joint auto task force with Ontario to address pressures facing Canada’s automotive industry, including labour impacts, EV mandates, and the imminent growing presence of Chinese automakers in the country.
Speaking in Toronto alongside Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the task force will coordinate investment strategy, safeguard jobs, and guide future decisions on the electrification of the auto sector.
“The idea of this auto task force will be about looking at future strategic investments and making sure also that we protect our workforce, in particular unionized workforce,” Joly told reporters. “And also making sure that trade works for workers and that they don’t feel that it’s going against them.”
Joly said she also met with Unifor national president Lana Payne to discuss how the government can support workers during ongoing structural changes in the auto industry. Unifor represents more than 320,000 private sector workers across Canada, including those in the auto and parts supply chain.
The task force will examine federal policies affecting the auto sector, including mandates for electric vehicles and international trade agreements. Joly said the government is currently reviewing its EV policy approach and intends to assess how these mandates intersect with labour and investment objectives.
The announcement comes following Canada’s newly established trade policy with China. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement earlier this month allowing up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to enter Canada annually at a 6.1% tariff rate, down from 100%. In return, China will reduce tariffs on Canadian canola exports.
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Ford, who has previously called for a boycott of Chinese-made EVs and referred to them as “spy vehicles,” avoided repeating those statements Monday. “I think I have voiced my opinion. I don’t believe in rehashing it constantly. I want to move forward and really focus on the existing auto manufacturers here,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Ford met with Carney in Etobicoke and described the conversation as “incredible” and “productive,” noting that federal-provincial cooperation is critical despite occasional disagreements.
Joly confirmed that she has already met with several global automakers, including Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Chinese firms BYD and Chery, to discuss potential Canadian operations. “We have to be not naive, but we also have to be open minded,” she said.
Chery is preparing to enter the Canadian market and has begun recruiting auto industry professionals to support a local sales network. While foreign firms such as Tesla and Volvo already export vehicles to Canada from Chinese factories, no China-based automaker has yet sold mainstream passenger EVs in Canada.
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Source: CBC
