Industry and Technology Committee on May 25th, 2026

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

It hasn't been done yet.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

That is not the information I have.

Potentially, Mr. Kingston and I need to talk to each other. That's not a problem. We'll do that. Clearly, the goal of the government and my order to my department, working with the Minister of Environment and, of course, under the Prime Minister's leadership, is to repeal the EV mandate.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Can you report the date back to this committee?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Mr. Guglielmin, I gave you three extra questions and 50 extra seconds, which I think was more than fair.

I'm going now to Mr. Fanjoy.

The floor is yours for five minutes. I understand you may be splitting your time with Monsieur Ntumba as well.

[Bruce Fanjoy, Liberal, Carleton, ON]

That's correct, Mr. Chair.

Minister, the Government of Canada recently launched a national electricity strategy, a plan to double our electric grid with clean, reliable and affordable energy by 2050. How will a strengthened electric grid support the growth of our domestic EV market and tie into the government's auto strategy? Specifically, how will it attract investments to Canada and boost EV demand?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, Bruce. There are a couple of things. First and foremost, the electricity strategy is important to make sure that we protect Canadians. As electricity demand increases, we want to make sure that electricity prices stay at a reasonable rate. It's a big affordability issue. That's been our priority.

Second, we've been wanting to address the manufacturing part of the electricity front. What I mean by this is that I was at Tenaris in Sault Ste. Marie, and it's because of energy sector projects—linked, obviously, to the grid also—that we will be able to increase the demand for steel in Canada, in pipes and in tubes. The other thing is that we just announced in Quebec that Hitachi, also a very important Japanese company, is investing in Canada in order to do more transformers. I've been in conversation with other Japanese companies wanting to invest in Ontario to be able to continue that supply chain that is so important. I've also been in conversation with many major steel companies that are affected by the tariffs and are now looking to have a strong demand in Canada for their steel products in the context of the electricity strategy. Really, when you think about building Canada strong, that's what we mean.

To your question regarding EVs, I think by 2030, nearly half, or 40%, of all cars in the world will be EVs. That will have, of course, an impact here at home. We know that EV adoption is actually up. We know that Canada and North America need to be able to develop the latest and the best technology when it comes to the auto sector. We have always done that. We cannot be leapfrogged by other countries in the world. We need to be able to adopt these technologies. That's what Canadians are looking for. Because it will have an impact on the grid, we also need to increase our electricity capacity. That's why the electricity strategy is so important to attract investments. We're also working with the provinces and territories to be able to have a full sovereign grid across the country, from east to west.

Thank you.

[Bruce Fanjoy, Liberal, Carleton, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Mr. Ntumba, you have the floor for the remaining two minutes.

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Minister. You were here three weeks ago, and we're happy to have you back.

The last time you appeared, in April, you announced a tariff response following new measures imposed by the United States. Since then, there have been a number of announcements across the country, from east to west.

After that tour following the announcement, have you seen any real effects on the ground? How has the announcement been received across the country?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Are you talking about steel and aluminum?

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

Yes.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I have seen a very positive reaction, certainly from the various chambers of commerce—whether in Quebec, Ontario or elsewhere—as well as the Conseil du patronat du Québec, among others. I have also had a number of conversations with businesses that have been directly affected by the tariffs, such as Bombardier Recreational Products and Manac, a semi-trailer company.

At the end of the day, these are illegal and unjustified tariffs. It's difficult. We're offering assistance to these businesses and are glad to be able to support them, but, fundamentally, we're trying to negotiate with the Americans and fight these tariffs. We're trying to do both at the same time: counteract the tariffs' impact by supporting our businesses while seeking a lasting solution with the Americans. Of course, we know that there's a lot of unpredictability when it comes to dealing with the White House.

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

I'm going to continue along the same lines. It's true that there is a plan in place. The Americans keep tripping us up, so to speak.

What is your medium-term and long-term vision for the support you're going to provide for innovation in Canada?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Despite all the insecurity and uncertainty created by the tariffs, and despite the significant global and geopolitical insecurity that particularly stems from the impacts of the war in Iran, Canada remains the G7 country that attracts the most foreign investment. It was able to do so in 2025, and that's still the case now, in 2026. That's no small feat. We know that we're dependent on the United States for exports. Despite everything, we have been able to attract those investments. We have worked very hard to do so, including through major projects in energy, critical minerals and transportation, such as ports. It helps.

At the same time, our objective is also to protect the manufacturing sector, which is really the target of the tariffs, and that's what I'm working on. Despite everything, we were able to announce investments in the battery sector, particularly from LG and Volkswagen. We have also announced new investments from Siemens and investments in the aerospace sector. Even more good news will be announced this week.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Thank you, Mr. Ntumba.

Mr. Ste‑Marie, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

All of the departmental plans provide for the development and implementation of a series of industrial and other strategies. I counted nine, including defence, automotive, quantum science and tourism. However, there are still none for Quebec's technological driver and number one exporter, aerospace.

I am very pleased by the announcement of the AirAsia Airbus mega contract in Mirabel. I understand that the defence strategy will include a significant share for aerospace, but Canada is the only country with such a significant aerospace industry that still doesn't have an industrial strategy. Are you planning to put one in place?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

At the moment, the aerospace sector is mainly focused on gradually securing its investments not only from a commercial standpoint, as we see in the case of Airbus at Mirabel, and in innovation, as we did in the case of MDS Coating, but also fundamentally from a defence standpoint.

What I'm being asked in terms of aerospace is really what our industrial and technological benefits policy will be. We're being asked how we're going to implement defence procurement for aerospace. That's really the kind of request I'm getting.

Certainly, I always want to do a lot for the aerospace industry. That goes without saying, because I'm a Quebecker and I'm very proud of it. As you know, my roots are in Mirabel. My grandmother and grandfather were from Saint‑Canut and Sainte‑Scholastique.

In short, I'm currently trying to focus on the sectors affected by the tariffs—steel, aluminum, automotive and defence—because this affects the entire manufacturing sector targeted by the tariffs. I'm also working on a new strategy for life sciences, which are very much affected by Mr. Trump's policies too.

What affects the aerospace sector certainly affects Bombardier as well. I am having conversations with its CEO, Éric Martel. In fact, I spoke to him again this morning. There is a lot of good news on the horizon for the aerospace sector in the coming weeks. In my opinion and that of the industry, things are going well right now.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Thank you, Minister.

Mr. Chair, I think my time is up, so I'll stop here.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Thank you, Mr. Ste‑Marie.

Mr. Chambers, welcome to the committee, sir. The floor is yours for five minutes.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Minister, thank you for being here. It's nice to see you again. I wish some of your cabinet colleagues would also attend committee meetings when they're invited, so thank you.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I'll pass the word along, just for you.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Do you recall using this line? You've used it a few times. In mid- to late February, you used the line in a CTV interview and also in a speech. You said Canadians would make “the best cars in the world, for the world”. Do you remember that line?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Yes, of course, and I stand by it.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Is it your position that Canadian automakers will export vehicles from Canada around the world to markets other than in the United States?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

I think that Canadian automakers are reckoning with the fact that there is an over-dependence on the U.S., with 90% and more of the entire production being exported to the U.S. We will anchor them, protect them and support them.

Seventy-five per cent of all the auto production in Canada is by Honda and Toyota. I was on the phone this weekend with Dave Jamieson, the CEO of Honda Canada, to make sure that that's the case for Honda, and we'll do that for Toyota.

Ford, for example, is undergoing a major investment of $4 billion, the biggest investment in its history in Canada. It is also looking at exporting elsewhere, and that's part of its business model.

I'm not stating this because it's something that I wish; it's based—