The deal lowers levies on Chinese EVs from 100 per cent to 6.1 per cent and applies to the first 49,000 vehicles imported each year.DAVE CHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was highly critical of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s deal to lower tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles in exchange for reduced levies on canola and other products, while Western and Atlantic provinces expressed relief that their sectors would no longer be targeted by Beijing.
Mr. Ford on Friday called the federal government’s deal with China “a lopsided agreement” that will hurt Canadian workers, and called on Mr. Carney to do more to support the province’s auto sector.
“Make no mistake: China now has a foothold in the Canadian market and will use it to their full advantage at the expense of Canadian workers,” Mr. Ford said in a statement.
The deal, announced by Mr. Carney on Friday, will allow nearly 50,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada at a low tariff rate in return for significant reductions in Beijing’s levies on canola seed and a promised elimination of its tariffs on a host of other products.
Canada reaches tariff deal with China on electric vehicles, canola
Western premiers, such as Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe, who accompanied Mr. Carney to China, have been asking the Prime Minister to lift the EV tariffs in exchange for relief for the canola and agricultural sectors. Mr. Moe praised the deal on Friday as “very good news” for his province.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew also said the tariff relief was welcome, but added he was looking for further clarity about the impacts on his province’s pork sector. He said there is time to support Ontario auto workers.
Atlantic provinces were also optimistic, with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland saying the deal sends positive signals to the seafood industry, which was also impacted by Chinese tariffs.
Mr. Ford, however, argued the deal will decimate his province’s auto sector by allowing cheap Chinese vehicles to flood the market.
“This lopsided deal risks closing the door on Canadian automakers to the American market, our largest export destination, which would hurt our economy and lead to job losses,” he said.
Speaking briefly to reporters in Toronto on Friday, Mr. Ford said the Prime Minister did not consult with him and called it a “terrible, terrible miscalculated decision” by Mr. Carney.
“He always preaches partnership. This is anything but a partnership,” Mr. Ford told Global News and CityNews.
Mr. Ford said the move will “tick off” the Americans, and he believes Canadians wouldn’t be allowed across the U.S. border in a Chinese-made vehicle, which he likened to a “spy car.”
“I don’t trust what the Chinese put in these cars,” Mr. Ford said.
Opinion: Quite the achievement for Mr. Carney in Beijing. Now what?
The Ontario Premier in his statement said that to “fix this mess,” the Prime Minister needs to make the Canadian auto sector more competitive by ending the electric vehicle mandate, which Mr. Carney’s government has paused. (Under the 2023 federal mandate, manufacturers were supposed to ensure that 20 per cent of all new cars, SUVs and light-duty trucks sold this year would be zero-emission vehicles, including plug-in hybrids.)
Mr. Ford also called for harmonizing regulations with key trading partners and scrapping federal fees, but didn’t elaborate.
The Premiers were briefed Friday after Mr. Carney’s announcement by Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Mr. LeBlanc’s office declined to comment.
Mr. Ford’s concerns were echoed by Unifor president Lana Payne, who said the deal with China poses extreme risk to Canadian auto jobs and the future of the auto sector.
“Canada is at the lowest point in how we protect and secure the auto industry that we have right now,” she said in an interview. “We just increased the number of imports from a part of the world that has suspect labour conditions, with very, very low wages, that then will create a kind of problem here.”
Mr. Moe, in a statement on social media, called the deal “a very positive signal” that will open avenues for further opportunities for Canadians.
“Today demonstrates the importance of foreign trade missions and shows what can be achieved when the federal and provincial governments and our export industries work together to strengthen our trade relationships,” he said in a statement on X.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she, too, welcomed the reduction of Chinese tariffs on canola and pea products, and hoped to see similar relief for pork and other sectors in the near future.
She added that she trusts Canadian security authorities will ensure all vehicles sold into Canada “pose no threat” to privacy laws or national security interests, and welcomed a discussion about oil and gas resource development with China.
Ottawa imposed 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese-made EVs in 2024, following the United States, and Beijing later responded with retaliatory levies on seafood and agricultural products.
Opinion: In seeking to deepen trade with China, Canada is hedging its bets
The agreement announced Friday lowers levies on Chinese EVs from 100 per cent to 6.1 per cent and applies to the first 49,000 vehicles imported each year. This quota will rise by more than six per cent annually – reaching 70,000 in half a decade, Mr. Carney later told reporters.
In return, by March 1, China will cut tariffs on canola seed to approximately 15 per cent from current combined tariff levels of 84 per cent.
According to Mr. Carney, Beijing has committed to removing tariffs on Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs and peas by March 1 “until at least the end of this year.”
With a report from Steven Chase in Beijing