On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney's campaign took him to the bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, crossing $300 million worth of auto parts daily.
He has announced a series of promises for programs aimed at workers and automotive industries that will be deployed if President Trump imposes tariffs on products from the Canadian auto industry. Among them was a proposed fund of C$2 billion to restructure the industry for the future without the US market.
The stakes are high. Automobiles and auto parts are from the country's second largest exports, with employers of around half a million, accounting for 10% of gross domestic product.
But what Mr. Carney and everyone else in the Canadian government knew was that the program was no longer for emergencies a few hours later.
Trump announced on April 2 that he was leviing a 25% tariff on all imports of cars and auto parts without first notifying Canada, without Canada's exemption.
(Read: Trump announces 25% tariffs on imported cars and car parts)
(Read: With car tariffs, Trump puts his unorthodox trade theory on test)
(Read: Trump's punishing tariffs stun American carmaker allies)
“This is a direct attack,” Carney told reporters at another campaign stop after the president's announcement, saying that Canada and the US ties were “broken” due to tariffs.
Mr. Carney then stopped the campaign and returned to Ottawa for the next morning cabinet meeting.
How Trump and his trade agenda were, of course, at the top of the list of issues when the campaign began on Sunday.
Here's how the three major national parties are committed to addressing the future of the automotive industry:
Liberals: Carney said his fund “builds an All-In Canada auto manufacturing network.” He added: “On average, auto parts cross the border six times before the final assembly. In a trade war, it's a huge vulnerability.”
Conservatives: Conservative leader Pierre Polyeive has not made any direct plans for the automotive sector, calling for an expansion of Canada's energy and natural resources sector to end the end of the carbon tax on industry and stimulate the economy. “We need to be more independent and have a new and different marketplace,” he said this week.
New Democrat: Party leader Jagmeet Singh appeared in his hometown of Windsor the day after Mr. Carney. He said that if the US-based automotive company wants to continue selling in Canada, it will require that the vehicle be built in Canada or buy Canadian parts. He also said that past government subsidies will be used to block machine removal and tools to the US. “These machines, those tools, those equipment – the Canadians paid for them,” he said. “They belong to us.”
We spoke with Greig Mordue, former general manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, about a general evaluation of the industry's future. Mold is currently an engineering professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, and his doctoral dissertation was in the history of Canadian automation.
He said that since 1960 government investigations promoted what suggested they were called beavers, ideas for the all-Canadian automotive industry have occasionally emerged.
It doesn't seem like any party has progressed that far. “There really isn't enough to make a viable, profitable, sustainable Canadian auto company,” Mordue said.
But he said if Trump enacted his car rates next week, if they last, the outcome could be the opposite of what Carney wants from parts makers.
“The Canadian parts industry is devastated and very rapidly devastated,” he said.
Parts manufacturers face two problems. The profit margin on parts is part of the 25% tariff rate, making their business unsustainable financially.
At the same time, Mold doesn't expect the automaker to soon leave his multi-billion dollar assembly plants and skilled, trained employees. Instead, he said they are likely to try and buy as many parts as possible from the US as a tariff solution. The Trump administration has shown that tariffs on cars gathered outside the United States will be lowered based on the US content.
But even if the assembly plants remain open for now, Mordau sees a dim future for the industry if US tariffs are in place and persistent.
“When this is over, nothing will happen to the Canadian automotive industry,” he said. “They scramble and find workarounds, but these workarounds will ultimately just slow down the final withering of car manufacturing.”
As the week ended, Carney and Trump had their first phone conversation. The president dropped rhetoric about making Canada a 51st province, with the two leaders explaining their story in a positive tone. But Trump later said his tariffs on Canada were coming “absolutely” on April 2nd.
(Read: Trump tones down his rhetoric about Canada after calling with leaders)
Trans Canada
After 142 years of operation, Canada's only rice plant has been found to be narrowed down from both sides in the trade war between Canada and the US. That future is now at risk.
Canada Airlines has eliminated tens of thousands of seats on its flight to the US this April as a Canadian boycott of everything the US grows, reports Vjosa Isai and Christine Chung.
Agents from the Indian government raised funds and helped organize support for Pierre Polyeive's successful bids for conservative leadership in 2022, the news outlet reported, citing an information representative.
The four company-owned Tesla dealer claimed in government filings that they sold an astounding 8,653 cars in three days. Currently, in questions about the validity of the claim, Transport Canada is frozen at $43 million in Canadian dollars they claim.
In a guest essay for opinions, author Grinnis McNichol writes, “It's really infuriating to see Americans thinking Canada's 51st state think it's good for the Democrats in America.”
If the sky is clear, some Canadians will see the most notable effects of a partial solar eclipse on Saturday.
Ian Austin reports on Canada about the Ottawa-based Times. He covers politics, culture and the people of Canada and has reported on the country for 20 years. He can contact austen@nytimes.com. More about Ian Austin
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