Ford government tells Ottawa Chinese EV tariffs are ‘key to protecting’ Ontario jobs
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford is asking Prime Minister Mark Carney not to drop massive tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, as he looks to protect his province’s fledgling clean auto industry.
The request puts Ontario in direct opposition with Saskatchewan, where retaliatory Chinese tariffs on canola are causing concern for the agriculture industry.
“At a time when our automotive sector is under enormous financial pressures because of President Trump’s tariffs, Canada’s tariff on Chinese-made EVs is critical to protecting more than 157,000 direct jobs in Ontario and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs across the country,” Ford wrote in a letter to Carney.
He asked the prime minister to maintain the 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EV imports, which was first put in place in 2024. He said it was “key to protecting” Ontario’s electric vehicle industry.
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At the time, Queen’s Park and Ottawa had offered Honda, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Ford Motor either direct infrastructure funding or production-related tax incentives to convince the global automakers to choose Ontario as their generational home.
The government was anticipating thousands of direct manufacturing jobs and new positions at spinoff companies as a result, raising the stakes in a global battle for the future of the electric vehicle market.
The impact of tariffs from the United States on vehicles and the slowing global demand for electric vehicles, however, has put the plan in jeopardy. While a massive battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont., is going ahead, others have paused or pulled back.
“Maintaining Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made EVs is essential to levelling the playing field, giving Canada’s EV sector and EV battery supply chains the ability to lead the North American EV sector and compete in the global EV market,” Ford’s letter said.
Ontario’s request does not necessarily enjoy support from premiers across the country.
Carney met with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe on Tuesday to talk about China’s canola tariffs, which are largely seen as a retaliatory measure triggered by the electric vehicle tariff.
China charges a 76 per cent tariff on Canadian canola seed imports and a 100 per cent tariff on canola oil, meal and peas.
Moe recently travelled to China with Carney’s parliamentary secretary Kody Blois to discuss the trade dispute.
Ford does not mention the canola tariff in his letter to Carney.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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