U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to take auto manufacturing out of Canada and bring it back to the United States. Now, the head of the Business Council of Canada says the country may need to consider letting him do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve built here is working, but we have to hear what is being said,\u201d Goldy Hyder said. \u201cWe want to shoot the messenger, but we are in the world we\u2019re in and I can tell you this much – from a business perspective, in the world that we\u2019re in – no agreement is not an alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI respect the fact that our auto companies are making the case that in fact, this is good – that the model works, what we\u2019ve built here is working – but we have to hear what is being said,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
October has been a difficult month for the auto sector in Canada. Tuesday, General Motors announced it is ending production of the Chevrolet BrightDrop electric parcel van in Ingersoll, Ontario.<\/p>\n
The week prior, Stellantis announced it would move planned production of the Jeep Compass from it\u2019s Brampton facility to Illinois, citing a US$13-billion plan to increase American production.<\/p>\n
The changes cost over 4,100 Canadian jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be foolish at this point not to have somewhere between moderate and heavy concern,\u201d said Brendan Sweeney, managing director for the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Hyder doesn\u2019t advocate to abandon the auto industry, rather to focus on what elements are protected from Trump\u2019s isolationist policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of jobs at stake in the auto industry. There are probably more jobs in the parts sector than the car making sector. They\u2019re not coming after our parts sector; they\u2019re coming after our cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Statistics Canada,<\/a> as of July there were over 54,000 Canadians directly employed in motor vehicle, vehicle body and trailer manufacturing compared to nearly 66,000 people directly employed in vehicle part manufacturing.<\/p>\n The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers\u2019 Association links over 600,000 direct and indirect jobs<\/a> to the auto industry across the country.<\/p>\n Sweeney says American policies to increase vehicle production in the United States will mean there is still a market for auto parts from Canada, but argues that doesn\u2019t mean Canada should forgo existing manufacturing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s good but that\u2019s not good enough. Making the vehicles is pound for pound about twice as valuable as making most parts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In the first half of 2025, the Detroit Three \u2013 Ford, General Motors and Stellantis \u2013 produced 20% of the cars made in Canada<\/a>, although Ford\u2019s Oakville plant is being retooled and not currently mass producing vehicles.<\/p>\n This week, the federal government limited how many vehicles Stellantis and GM can import tariff-free after both companies cut back on their Canadian operations.<\/p>\n Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne posted on social media, saying the government is \u201cdeeply disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n Our government is deeply disappointed by the recent production changes announced by General Motors and Stellantis. That’s why we are reducing their import remission quotas \u2014 a clear consequence under our established framework. We stand firmly with our auto workers and will not\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZHvuqXfgyL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne (FPC) \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@FP_Champagne) October 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, American manufacturers are seeing unexpected reprieve from the impact of tariffs after the White House updated its policies, extending a 3.75% rebate on the Manufacturer\u2019s Suggested Retail Price for domestically-assembled vehicles until 2030.<\/p>\n In its third quarter earnings call<\/a>, Ford Motor Company said the move will save over a billion dollars in expected tariff costs while General Motors thanked the President<\/a> in their quarterly update.<\/p>\n \u201cA U.S. automaker by moving their operations from Canada to Mexico into the United States is not only saving the duty costs of importing their vehicle, but now they\u2019re getting this subsidy on top,\u201d said Stephen Beatty, former vice-president of Toyota Canada. <\/p>\n Beatty argues Ottawa should better tie the ability to import vehicles into Canada tariff-free as an incentive for international vehicle makers to produce more in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cI think [the federal government] was trying to hold what it had but I think as we move forward – and think what\u2019s the industry of the future – you want to put as many incentives in place that don\u2019t cost tax payers money but direct the industry to do certain things; and that\u2019s where remission can come into play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n