Ford calls Chinese EVs ‘spy cars,’ Poilievre demands answers on Carney’s deal

Ford is slamming Carney’s preliminary trade agreement with Communist China, warning the deal puts Canadian auto jobs in jeopardy.

Source: X

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is slamming Prime Minister Mark Carney’s preliminary trade agreement with Communist China, warning the deal puts Canadian auto jobs in jeopardy and threatens to sour relations with the United States.

In a statement posted to X on Friday, Ford said the agreement gives China “a foothold in the Canadian market” and claimed the federal government is inviting “a flood of cheap made-in-China electric vehicles” without guaranteed equal or immediate investments in Canada’s economy or supply chain.

Ford argued that lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles could threaten Canadian workers and raise trade risks with the United States, on which Ontario’s auto industry heavily depends for exports.

“I call it the spy car that they’re bringing in,” Ford told reporters, adding that the deal “is going to tick off the Americans and 80 per cent of our autos are going down there.”

Carney announced Friday that Canada has reached a preliminary agreement with Beijing that would allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market at a 6.1 per cent tariff rate, in exchange for reduced Chinese duties on Canadian canola and relief from tariffs on several other key exports.

Ford urged Ottawa to focus instead on strengthening Ontario’s competitiveness and attracting investment into domestic auto manufacturing. In his statement, he called on Carney to support Ontario’s auto sector by ending the federal electric vehicle mandate, harmonizing regulations with key partners, and scrapping federal fees he said raise production costs and discourage investment.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also attacked the agreement, arguing Carney must explain how he went from calling China Canada’s “biggest security threat” before the election to announcing a “strategic partnership” with Beijing after taking office.

Poilievre said the agreement would allow 50,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market, claiming it jeopardizes national security and auto jobs.

He also accused the government of failing to secure firm results for Canadian producers, saying there is no guarantee tariffs on canola and other exports will be “permanently, immediately, or completely eliminated.”

“It’s time for Canadians to have a government that will put our country first and protect our security, our jobs and our sovereignty,” Poilievre said in a statement.

Carney’s deal, announced during his trip to Beijing, is expected to reduce Chinese duties on Canadian canola seed to 15 per cent by March, while tariffs on canola meal, lobsters, crabs and peas would be lifted from March through at least the end of the year.