Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the year’s recap for the union and the outlook for 2026.
Going into the new year, job security remains the top concern for many workers in Canada’s auto, forestry and metals industries, according to the president of Canada’s largest private-sector union.
This comes as a direct result of U.S. tariffs, Lana Payne, president of Unifor, told BNN Bloomberg.
“It’s just been devastating all across the spectrum, for workers in these sectors right now,” said Payne, who represents approximately 320,000 unionized workers in Canada.
She said the industries targeted by tariffs play a key role in lifting wages in the country.
“These sectors often lead the way,” said Payne.
Are strikes the way to go? Especially during a trade war?
Trade war or not, the reality is, “if you make progress for working people, one of the ways you have to do it is to withdraw your labour,” said Payne.
However, some companies have voiced their disapproval of strikes.
Nutrien, which makes fertilizer, has been critical of Unifor’s strikes in the past. In 2023, it claimed that because of the disruption in the Port of Vancouver, production in its Cory potash mines had to be reduced.
“If we’re going to have that conversation, we have to throw everything on the table and look at what some of the really big challenges are here,” said Payne.
“Rights for working people are not something that we can trade away.”
She argued that larger threats to trade infrastructure are aging systems and climate-related disruptions, rather than just labour action.
“No matter where you are in North America, particularly in the U.S. or Canada, you are going to face disputes,” said Payne. “Workers have rights. They have rights in the U.S., too.”
Anti-replacement worker law tested
Payne pointed to how government policy can help strengthen collective bargaining.
Canada’s Bill C-58 went into effect in the summer. It bans employers in federally regulated sectors from bringing in replacement workers during labour strikes and lockouts.
She said the law proved to be a success when it was tested during a lockout dispute this summer, with U.S. based shipping company DHL, which employs nearly 3,000 Canadian workers.
“Within, a matter of hours days, we had a settlement. Collective bargaining worked and that’s the way it should occur,” said Payne.
Temporary workers and wage pressure
Payne also warned employers against using the government’s temporary worker program to suppress wages.
“We have to be careful that we’re looking at true labour shortages, and not wage shortages in this scenario,” she said.
Payne said the focus should be on what is needed for the economy.
“Not just listen to the employer side of this that, ‘we need temporary workers all the time in every sector.’ That’s not true,” said Payne.