First and foremost, I agree with you that we need to fight for our workers. Be they auto, steel, aluminum or copper workers, they're all affected by tariffs.
Indeed, we're engaging with the U.S. We will work on having a good deal for Canadians, but we won't just accept any deal. At the same time, we believe there are many things we can control. We can't control what is going on in the White House, but we can control what we're doing here at home.
That's why today we announced some new supports—1.5 billion dollars' worth of supports. These are loans from the $1-billion program by the BDC. They're interest-free for the first year and have very low interest rates for years two and three. At the same time, throughout the three-year period, only the interest will have to be paid. It's actually a really good support for companies. It's for bigger companies, because these loans will be between $5 million and $50 million.
The smaller companies have the regional development agencies. Obviously, in your region there's FedDev, which is really important. These loans include up to $1 million of non-unrepayable contributions. They're basically supporting smaller and medium-sized businesses.
We have to do both. We have to engage with the American administration, and we have to work with our Canadian automakers to make sure they advance our interests and Canada's interests in Washington. At the same time, we need to offer support to Canadian companies, which need to be able to adapt and pivot.