International Trade Committee on May 26th, 2026

[Kevin Lee]

Number one, it's still a great goal. Continue to pursue it, but also use your voting capabilities at all three levels of government.

All three levels of government have a role to play in making housing more affordable and more accessible, and probably the place that Canadians focus on the least but has the most impact is actually municipally, especially for young Canadians looking for new types and new forms of housing. There are a lot of municipal things that get in the way, from zoning to bylaws to Nimbyism to anti-infill—all of those things.

Don't give up on the dream. Keep pursuing it, but be loud and active as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Ali Ehsassi, go ahead, please.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Lee. Your testimonies have been very helpful.

Allow me to start off with Mr. Sweeney.

As I understand it, your membership and, indeed, your organization, PMAC, have been consulted on CUSMA on numerous occasions because we value the insights you bring.

Is that correct? Have you been in touch with the government on various occasions?

[Brendan Sweeney]

Yes.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

That's excellent.

Would it be accurate to say that the government also appreciates, full well, your concern about section 232 tariffs? Would that be your assessment?

[Brendan Sweeney]

You would be in a better position to assess that than I am.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

What is your sense of it, though? Did they ever give you the impression that we're not focused on the issue?

[Brendan Sweeney]

We've had some great conversations.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

I just wanted to confirm that those discussions are taking place and that you recognize, full well, that the government is focused on this.

Mr. Lee, has the government been in touch with your organization, as well, as we approach—

[Kevin Lee]

Yes.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

That's excellent.

Now, you spoke to the fact that our supply chains are very integrated and that CUSMA is bound to have an impact on housing prices in Canada, and vice versa. I was looking at some stats. Housing prices are up considerably in the U.S.—they're saying that it's 2% nationally—in particular in the northeast, I believe. Those prices are up in 40 out of 50 states.

Given how integrated these supply chains are, how detrimental is it to the U.S. housing market should they continue to maintain these tariffs?

[Kevin Lee]

It's hugely problematic.

The biggest things affecting the U.S. market are the tariffs on softwood lumber and that ongoing dispute. They're so reliant on what we do in terms of exporting what is not only a lot of lumber but also very high-quality lumber. In fact, you'll hear a lot about yellow pine from the south of the United States. It's very much an inferior product. Not only are they paying more across the board...because when they tariff Canadian lumber, it just means all the U.S. lumber mills increase their prices. Then they see higher prices across the board for an inferior-quality product, which is problematic for them in a variety of ways.

On top of that, you can add lots of other products we produce and ship south of the border. However, there's no question that lumber is the number one issue facing them when it comes to Canadian exports to the U.S.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you so much for fleshing out how significant lumber is.

What are the other inputs we export to the U.S. that are now critical to the health of the housing industry?

[Kevin Lee]

Beyond lumber, we also have a variety of steel and aluminum products that are obviously seeing very heavy duties right now.

The other thing is that we have a lot of products going back and forth across the border throughout the manufacturing process. Sometimes that gets lost in the weeds. You're paying multiple duties back and forth on the assembly of different products, including HVAC things. Those are the big ones. We see some drywall go to the United States. We have quite a bit of production in Canada, although it mostly services the Canadian industry.

Those would be some.

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Thank you so much.

Now I will return to you, Mr. Sweeney.

I've had the privilege and honour of visiting Honda. They do an exceptional job. The same is true for Toyota. We're so incredibly grateful that there has been no downturn in production.

You touched on the issue of competitiveness. In particular, you underscored the significance of the Canadian workforce. Just so we're all familiar with the incredible things Honda and Toyota do here, could you tell us about some of the awards that each of them has secured over the past several years? It really is a point of pride. We're very grateful for the amazing work they do.

[Brendan Sweeney]

Sure.

J.D. Power is an automotive organization in the United States. It awards four different levels—platinum, gold, silver and bronze—for initial plant quality. Since I've been working in the automotive industry—15-odd years now—at least one Honda or Toyota plant in Canada has won one of these awards. Sometimes it's two plants. Sometimes both companies are winning awards. These are the only plants in Canada that have won these awards since 2013.

I believe one of Toyota's two plants in Cambridge, Ontario, is J.D. Power's most-awarded plant for initial plant quality in North America. If it's not the most-awarded plant in the world, it's very close to it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Ehsassi.

Monsieur Savard-Tremblay, go ahead for six minutes.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here. I'd also like to thank them for their testimony.

My first question is for you, Mr. Sweeney.

What do you think of the idea—this idea has been somewhat popular—of imposing a common North American tariff on vehicles from China?

[Brendan Sweeney]

I have not really explored that idea at this point in time.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

That's not a problem.

Last fall, we also heard from representatives of the Global Automakers of Canada association on several occasions. At the time, they told us that the sunset clause was hindering the certainty needed for industrial investment.

Do you share that view? I am, of course, referring to the sunset clause in the Canada—United States—Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.

[Brendan Sweeney]

I think any clause that would jeopardize the long-term future of CUSMA is unwelcome. We are here to work in an integrated North American automotive industry with an integrated market, and CUSMA facilitates that. A long-term renewal of CUSMA is what we favour.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

In October 2025, we also heard from former negotiator Steve Verheul. He had worked on the old version of CUSMA, which was ratified here six years ago. He no longer worked for the Canadian government, so his testimony was a bit freer than it would have been otherwise.

Mr. Verheul was concerned that the United States would try to impose minimum requirements for U.S. content in automobiles.

Are you also concerned about that? Have you ever heard talk of that?

[Brendan Sweeney]

There are rumours. Sure.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC]

Did you hear about it only in the form of rumours?

Was it in a slightly more official form, something more serious and rigorous?

[Brendan Sweeney]

I can look into that.