Subsidies for foreign cars not the answer

Kildonan – St. Paul

Canada’s auto sector is facing a moment of real crisis, and families in our community are already feeling the consequences.

More than 5,000 Canadian auto workers have lost their jobs as a direct result of the latest U.S. tariffs. Behind each number is a household now facing uncertainty. These losses come on top of a decade-long decline in Canadian auto production – from 2.3 million vehicles built in 2016 to just 1.2 million today. In less than 10 years, our national output has nearly been cut in half.

Despite this concerning trend, the Liberal government chose to turn its focus elsewhere. Just a few years ago, Ottawa – alongside Ontario – committed up to $52 billion in subsidies to artificially create an electric-vehicle (EV) supply chain in Canada. Canadians were promised jobs, investment, and long-term stability driven not by market demand, but by unprecedented public spending intended to force the transition.

Instead, serious warning signs are now emerging. Major auto companies have written down billions in EV losses, projects have stalled, and heavily subsidized ventures are struggling to remain viable. Industry leaders themselves acknowledge the transition has moved faster than real-world demand and affordability allow – especially in a country as large and cold as Canada, where distance, winter performance, and cost matter deeply to families.

Yet rather than reassess, the Liberal government is doubling down. It has now announced another $2.3 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies to encourage EV and plug-in hybrid purchases. However, Canada currently manufactures very few of these vehicles. Today, only one Canadian-built EV, the Dodge Charger, is available to consumers.

The result is predictable. Taxpayer dollars – paid by Canadian workers – will largely subsidize the purchase of foreign-made vehicles, including those produced in the United States at the very moment U.S. tariffs are costing Canadians their jobs.

A multi-billion-dollar subsidy for imported vehicles does little to support our struggling domestic auto manufacturing sector while directly benefiting foreign auto industries – including Trump’s America. After attempting to artificially create an EV market through massive subsidies, the government is now asking Canadian workers to fund its continuation even as the economic case weakens.

This is not fair, and it is not a strategy that puts Canadian workers first. If public money is being used, it should strengthen Canadian production, Canadian jobs, and Canadian communities.

Conservatives have proposed a simpler and fairer alternative: removing the federal sales tax on new vehicles made in Canada while U.S. tariffs remain in place. This approach would support workers across the entire domestic auto sector – not just a narrow slice of one emerging technology.

Canada’s auto workers are among the best in the world. They deserve policies focused on protecting their jobs, growing domestic production, and ensuring the next generation of vehicles is built here at home.