Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2025

Canada's Auto Industry

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member said, as the Prime Minister said, we can only control what we control, but what that is actually saying is that they control nothing. There is nothing in this economic situation today, particularly in the auto sector, where they have any control. We have seen thousands of jobs leave for the south to the U.S. Contracts are being broken. Auto sector jobs are disappearing day over day, and industrial sector jobs are disappearing as well.

I wonder how that member can actually stand in the House with a straight face to say that they can only control what they can control. What does that mean?

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, I actually welcome that question because it allows me to talk about what we have done and the reaction that has received from people who are directly impacted.

I will quote Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada with over 300,000 members: “Building a resilient economy means ensuring that the commitments outlined in the federal budget translate into good, union jobs for Canadian workers”. That is about the budget we tabled here just last month, and that was Unifor national president, Lana Payne, who also said, “Trump's tariffs are an existential threat, and Canada must fight back to protect working families and industries alike.” Unifor supports the 2025 budget and the measures we have taken as a government.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would first like to thank my colleague for her solidarity with the automobile sector, workers, and industries. She knows Sudbury very well. There are times of great success and there are times of contraction. I would like to give her the opportunity to talk about how important it is to have a government that has measures in place to support industries and workers. I would also like her to tell us what she finds most remarkable or useful in budget 2025.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, as a government, it is very important for us to stand up for the industry and Canadian workers. We need to have a strategic plan that addresses both priorities. We need to help not only the industry, but also the workers and to protect jobs that offer so much to a community. That is why our government's plan addresses these two very important priorities.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have many friends who, growing up in Niagara, worked at GM at the engine plant or worked at Ford at the glass plant. My colleague from Niagara Falls will remember that, as he worked in one of the plants when he was a teenager. All of that has disappeared.

I am just wondering, as all of these companies and all of these jobs have—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Sudbury.

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, that question allows me once again to talk about the reaction we have received in the industry. The Global Automakers of Canada, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association and the Automotive Industries Association of Canada are all very supportive of the steps our government has taken.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for the beautiful riding of Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The Prime Minister told Canadians he would fight for a stronger Canada. He urged voters to look past a decade of Liberal failures, insisting he would negotiate a win and fight for Canadian jobs, but since the election, “elbows up” has turned into “who cares?” No trade deals have materialized and tariffs remain in place, while jobs and investment have fled the country in record numbers. It is no wonder that so many Canadians who cast a ballot for the Liberals are now feeling voter remorse, because this government is a lemon.

The Prime Minister and his cabinet pretend they are steering in a different direction than the past 10 years under Justin Trudeau, but all they have really done is roll back the odometer and slap on some BNG, bold new graphics, because underneath the decals and fresh paint, the government is still the same worn-out rust bucket, incapable of moving this country forward at all, let alone at speeds Canadians have never seen before. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Liberal government's mishandling of the Canadian automotive industry.

The Prime Minister did not just promise a win; he promised he alone could stand up to Donald Trump and protect Canadian workers. What we have seen instead is the opposite: instability, layoffs and investment fleeing Canada. The government's failure to stand up for this critical industry has workers across the country fearing they will be out of work by Christmas, and reports today now confirm just how incompetent the Liberal government has been at protecting Canadian jobs.

More than $220 million in federal funding went to Stellantis before it announced it was shifting production to the United States, and at Algoma Steel, the Liberals approved $400 million in loans, even though they knew the company's business plan included major layoffs. They are literally subsidizing the loss of Canadian jobs. Folks who work in the auto industry, including those at Honda in my community of Alliston, know their livelihoods could be next, because if the government will not fight for workers in Brampton, Windsor, Oshawa or the Soo, it will not fight for them either.

If the Liberals' failure to stand up to the United States was not bad enough, an equally serious and entirely self-inflicted threat to the Canadian auto industry comes from their own policies. Their obsessive push for an EV mandate has created uncertainty across the sector. For years, they have warned manufacturers and consumers that gas-powered vehicles would be banned, only to delay its implementation and repeatedly review and assess it. It has been delayed again, and there is still no clarity on what comes next.

How can an industry that plans years in advance function when the Liberal government cannot provide even the most basic certainty?

Automakers are finalizing their 2028 models today, but they are still guessing at what they will be able to manufacture under this shifting mandate. This has nothing to do with Donald Trump or the United States. The uncertainty choking the Canadian auto industry is made in Ottawa by the Liberals. They boast about supporting pipelines while key ministers work behind the scenes to stop them from ever being built. They scrapped the consumer carbon tax only to impose a harsher industrial version that lands squarely on manufacturers. With their shifting EV mandate, the same pattern repeats: big rhetoric about confronting Trump and strengthening the auto sector, even as they cripple the industry with policies that undermine its ability to survive.

Auto workers deserve good, stable, paying jobs in a competitive climate that attracts investment.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Chair, it is interesting. This is where we agree: Auto workers and their families are critically important. We have a government and a Prime Minister who have been there in a very real way.

The Conservatives need to realize they have to be fair on the issue. They cannot just click their heels and the problem goes away. At the end of the day, it is a very serious discussion and negotiations that are taking place. We have to negotiate the best deal we can for Canadians and our automobile industry. That is so very important. If it takes time, we do that. In the interim, we support our workers and the families of our workers. It is important to all of Canada.

I wonder if the member would agree that the best thing we can do in government is be patient and fight for the best deal for Canadians. That is the way we protect the jobs of the future.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, it was the Liberal government and the Prime Minister who said they would have a deal by June 21. That has passed. It was the Prime Minister who said that he could handle Donald Trump. What I am trying to make the government understand is that it is putting self-imposed mandates that the auto industry cannot seek any clarity on. It paused this mandate for 60 days. That passed. Now it has kicked the can down the road. There is no certainty for investment now for auto makers in Canada. The only person who is going to get rich from this so-called EV mandate is Elon Musk. It is interesting, looking at the Prime Minister's disclosure, to see that he owns shares in Tesla. Surprise, surprise.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank the member for his speech and for his passion. He cares a great deal about Canadians. It is very clear to see every time he stands in this House how much he is looking out for the residents who live in his neighbourhood.

I wonder if he could take a few moments and talk a bit about the contradictions we constantly see coming from the other side of the House. Out of one side of their mouths we hear them asking if we have not heard there is a trade war. Out of the other side of their mouths, they say, “We have the best deal ever.” Which is it? If the trade deal is not the problem, and they say they cannot fix that right now, what can they do right now? They can take care of the EV mandate. What does the member say to that?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, we have seen this time and again from the Prime Minister. He promised a deal by June 21. We have no deal. With every country he goes to visit, the tariffs actually go up. He went to India. The next thing we know, our peas are tariffed. Nothing comes from the government. There is absolutely no certainty for the industry now. There is a mandate, but does the industry know it is coming? Big auto is not going to invest a nickel in this country until it has certainty in the industry.

Do members know what is funny but actually not funny? I travelled in my riding last week, and every single cord was cut on every EV charging station. People are cutting the cords because they are getting money for the copper in the cord. That is how bad affordability is in this country. I hope the government is going to have a solution for charging EVs—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Guelph.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Chair, the facts matter here. I would like to be very clear that 2024 was actually a record in Canada for foreign direct investment: $85.5 billion in FDI inflows, 36% higher than 2023 and 50% above the 10-year average. Canada is attracting foreign direct investment. We will see more.

Why would the member opposite not welcome that and talk Canada up so we can negotiate from a position of strength?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, if there is one member in this House who always talks Canada up, it is me. I can tell members right now that this is what we are talking about here. For the elbows-up crowd who voted Liberal, just so they know, they voted for an EV mandate that pays Elon Musk and Tesla money, billions of dollars, because he owns 75% of the EV business. As long as they know that—

[The Deputy Speaker, Tom Kmiec]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Mr. Chair, Canada has a proud history of being an auto manufacturing nation. In fact, Canada's auto industry contributes $14 billion to our nation's GDP. In Niagara, General Motors has been in St. Catharines since 1929, nearly 100 years. However, whether GM will be open for business in St. Catharines to celebrate its century milestone has been cast in a nervous uncertainty, thanks to President Trump's tariff war against Canada, which is targeting auto manufacturing amongst other key sectors of our economy.

I am GM proud. I drive a GM vehicle whose very engine was made in St. Catharines at our local GM plant by Canadian workers. In fact, I worked at that GM plant during my university years as a student. At that time, GM in St. Catharines had three plants employing close to 10,000 GM Canadian workers.

Today, our local GM footprint has been reduced to just one plant and a much smaller workforce, roughly 700 Unifor Local 199 members. As a Niagara area MP and the member of Parliament for Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, I have a responsibility to represent the current and former GM workers who reside in my riding.

Those proud GM workers were disgusted with the Prime Minister's reaction to a recent question he faced during the G20 summit in Johannesburg earlier this month, when he said, “Who cares?” and that he does not “have a burning issue to speak with the president about right now”.

I can tell members that Canadian auto workers and their families care and so too do all my Conservative colleagues. Just this fall, Stellantis announced that 3,000 Canadian jobs will be heading south to Illinois. A week later, GM announced that they are ending electric van production at the CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, making 1,200 auto workers jobless. GM also announced the elimination of its third shift in Oshawa, impacting roughly 1,000 workers.

According to the Center for Automotive Research, every job in the automotive assembly plant supports nine additional jobs. That is the highest external benefit multiplier of any sector in Canada. According to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, auto manufacturing accounts for more than 105,000 direct jobs in Canada, with the majority of these jobs located in Ontario. In total, the auto industry is responsible for over 603,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country. When we lose auto manufacturing jobs at assembly plants, the ripple effect it has on the supply chains across our economy is massive.

Last May, GM announced that it will invest $888 million into its Tonawanda propulsion plant, which is located just miles away from St. Catharines and across the river in New York state. That is investment that is not flowing to St. Catharines. That investment is benefiting our American neighbours in New York state. This is in addition to the $4 billion already announced by General Motors this summer. The American strategy is clear. It was echoed by the U.S. commerce secretary when he stated boldly that the U.S. wants auto assembly done in the U.S., period.

After eight months, the Prime Minister has gone from “elbows up” to “who cares” when it comes to trade issues with the United States. What is it it going to take for the Prime Minister and these Liberals to care? Harmful Liberal policies like the growth-killing EV mandate and the industrial carbon tax have added even more pressure on those trying to invest in building Canada in the face of unjustified tariffs.

It is the decisions being made by the government that are making the Canadian automobile sector less competitive. Unless the government takes action to reduce policies such as the industrial carbon tax and its EV mandate, which, to my colleague's point, only enriches people like Elon Musk at the expense of Canadian automakers, and if they do not take steps to correct that, it will not create the certainty so that automakers want to invest in Canada.

[Carlos Leitão, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Chair, I think we all agree that the Canadian automobile industry is undergoing a serious crisis. I would just like to know from our colleagues across the aisle if they could tell us the source of that crisis.

Is it the U.S. tariffs, which are unjust and unjustifiable, or is it the EV mandates?

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Mr. Chair, my colleague said it best earlier: It is 10 years of failed Liberal policies. We have the tariff issue to contend with, but the success of the auto sector in this country was based on the regulatory harmony that existed between Canada and the United States since the implementation of the auto pact in the 1960s.

What has happened since the tariffs have been put in place? Well, guess what. In terms of regulatory harmony, there is no industrial carbon tax in the United States, and there is no EV mandate in the United States. Why are we punishing our auto sector even further? You are driving them into the United States. You are making it less competitive for them to be in Canada. They want to stay. The GM plant in my community has been there since 1929 and the one in my colleague's riding since 1918. Why is the Liberal government so determined to end that?

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

I will just remind the hon. member to remember to speak through the Chair. The Chair is not responsible for anything going on in any particular province.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Oshawa.

[Rhonda Kirkland, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Chair, I am so grateful that the member here just mentioned my riding of Oshawa. He can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that very close to his riding, the V8 engines that are being manufactured are for the Silverados that are built in my riding.

I wonder if the member can speak to the camaraderie and the solidarity that auto workers have in all the different places where we have assembly plants, whether it is GM or Stellantis or Ford or any others in the area. How is this affecting the auto workers in general? How do they feel when their neighbours and friends are losing jobs in other areas of the country? I wonder if he would just give us some more comments on that.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Mr. Chair, there is a sense of pride among auto workers in the quality of the products that they produce. In fact, in St. Catharines we do make the V8 engines that go into the Silverado in Oshawa. There is a reason the auto workers call themselves brothers and sisters as members of locals there. I have local 199 in St. Catharines.

That is being put at risk by the policies of the government not to support the auto sector. Not only did the Liberals promise to get a deal done with the Americans by July 21 and fail at that, but they promised elbows up and again have succumbed to that. Now, it is, “Who cares?” Then they put in place policies like the industrial carbon tax and the EV mandate, which are helping to drive investment out of Canada. That is a shame for those dedicated workers who want good-paying jobs and want them here in Canada.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Chair, I am a relatively new member of the House, and there is one thing that I have a hard time understanding. The Conservatives say one thing in the House, but when it comes time to vote, they always do the opposite. They talk about the cost of living every day in the House, but when it comes time to vote for measures to help with the cost of living, the Conservatives vote against them.

This evening, they are telling us about the importance of the automotive sector and of supporting workers and the industry. However, the strategic response fund that we created, with over $5 billion available to support the sectors, businesses and workers hardest hit by the tariffs, was in budget 2025 and the Conservatives voted against it. I want to understand why they are voting against helping the businesses hardest hit by the tariff war and, at the same time, against helping Canadian workers.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to welcome my colleague to the House. He has just come here, and he will probably work with his Liberal colleagues to build on that 10-year record of failure. That is why we voted against these budgets. For 10 years, we have voted against budgets that let the price of housing double. The price of mortgages has doubled and the price of rent has doubled, all during their periods of government, and then the Liberals wonder why we vote against their policies. Their policies have led to the economic demise that Canadians face.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Chair, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin.

The auto industry plays a vital role in the Canadian economy, contributing approximately $16.8 billion in economic activity in 2024, which accounted for nearly 8% of Canada's total manufacturing GDP. In my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche, there may not be a large auto sector presence, but I understand that this is a very important issue for the Canadian economy. As a member of our Liberal government, I am determined, along with all my colleagues, to work to strengthen the Canadian economy and to protect all our sectors and all workers across the country. That is why I wanted to rise in the House this evening during this debate.

This sector employs more than 125,000 Canadians and supports hundreds of thousands more jobs across the country. Recognizing its importance to the Canadian economy, our government continues to invest in the automotive sector, particularly in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the global transition to electrification.

Collaboration between the federal and provincial governments and the industry has attracted significant investment to transition to EV production and establish a comprehensive Canadian supply chain for EV batteries. This includes investments in higher value-added segments, such as cell manufacturing supported by major battery manufacturers such as NextStar Energy and PowerCo, as well as key players in the intermediate sector, such as GM, Posco and Asahi Kasei, which produce components essential to battery manufacturing, including cathode active materials and separators. This is benefiting companies in the automotive and EV battery supply chain and will continue to do so.

It is important to note that these investments build on Canada's strengths. We have a highly skilled workforce, award-winning auto plants, abundant critical minerals, clean and affordable energy, and a proven track record of innovation. We will continue to leverage our comparative advantage to strengthen the domestic automotive sector, which provides jobs today and for decades to come.

That said, the transition is taking place amid significant short-term economic uncertainty and slower-than-expected growth in EV demand. That is why we are taking a measured approach by supporting the industry today, while remaining focused on a sustainable future.

To that end, the government has announced that it will make targeted adjustments to the electric vehicle availability standard. We are removing the 20% sales target for electric models for the year 2026 and have undertaken a 60-day review of the entire regulation. Our government aims to ensure that the targets set in the regulations are both ambitious and achievable and that all automakers do not face excessive financial burdens, while continuing to decarbonize transportation. We are also investing in Canadian businesses to help them adapt to the recent economic challenges, including those related to the uncertain business environment, and to lay the groundwork for future growth.

The government has just announced the creation of a new strategic response fund that will provide $5 billion to key sectors, giving priority to those that are heavily exposed to trade and affected by tariffs, particularly the auto industry. The fund will aim to support industrial capacity by offsetting new market access costs, supporting their equipment, and facilitating Canadian companies' plans to expand or enter new markets. We have also increased investments in the regional tariff response initiative, bringing total funding to $1 billion over three years, including to support companies in the automotive sector.

Canada has all the assets it needs to excel in the next generation of automotive manufacturing. Our priority continues to be defending Canadian interests, supporting workers and building a strong automotive sector for decades to come. Our government is there for the sectors most affected by the unjustified and illegitimate tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration. I know this first-hand because my riding is affected by softwood lumber tariffs. Tonight, we are talking about another sector that is heavily affected by tariffs: the automotive sector.

Our caucus is fortunate to have colleagues who are determined to fight for this sector. I am thinking in particular of the member for Guelph, who is a staunch defender of the automotive sector, just as I am for the softwood lumber sector. We understand that our government must be there for the sectors most affected by tariffs, so we must be there to protect our businesses and we must be there to protect our Canadian workers from coast to coast to coast.