Unifor condemns Carney’s Chinese EV deal, warns of risk to Canadian jobs
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, has condemned Prime Minister Mark Carney’s controversial preliminary trade agreement with China.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, has condemned Prime Minister Mark Carney’s controversial preliminary trade agreement with China. The union is warning that the deal, which will allow Chinese-made electric vehicles to flood the Canadian market, poses a significant risk to Canadian jobs.
“This is a self-inflicted wound to an already injured Canadian auto industry,” Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a statement. She warned the deal “provides a foothold to cheap Chinese EVs” and “puts Canadian auto jobs at risk.”
The deal, announced Friday in Beijing, will allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market at a 6.1 per cent tariff rate. In return, Ottawa expects China to lower duties on Canadian canola seed to 15 per cent by March. China has also said it will lift tariffs on Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs and peas from March through at least the end of the year.
Unifor said it has “long warned” against allowing Chinese EVs to flood the North American market, arguing the vehicles are backed by “massive state subsidies.” The union warned this would cost Canadian jobs, stall domestic investment, and damage Canada’s independent auto parts supply chain.
The union noted the deal comes at a time when Canada’s auto sector is already under strain from U.S. tariffs and shifting EV policies south of the border. More than one-third of Unifor members at Detroit Three facilities are currently laid off, the union noted.
Unifor also argued the move could weaken Canada’s position ahead of the upcoming mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.
“Finding a resolution to U.S. auto tariffs just got more difficult as Canada has surrendered the leverage of opening our market to China,” Payne said.
Unifor represents 320,000 workers and is Canada’s second-largest union.