Canada's auto sector faces an EV renaissance, but local job protection is a concern
Canada's auto industry is experiencing a renaissance as it transitions from building gas-powered vehicles to ones that run on batteries, but some are raising the alarm over the protection of local jobs.
Southern Ontario has become a hub for foreign automakers that have invested tens of billions of dollars since 2020 to build up electric-vehicle battery plants, with help from the federal government in the form of tax credits and subsidies.
As the federal and provincial governments subsidize that growing industry, union leaders, federal Conservatives and the NDP are demanding assurances from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he will make sure jobs are going to Canadians.
Earlier this month, Canada's Building Trades Union called on Trudeau to intervene at the NextStar battery plant in Windsor, Ont., which is owned by Stellantis and LG Energy Solution.
The union said Canadians are being sidelined in favour of temporary foreign workers.
It said in a letter to Trudeau that 180 skilled workers in the region remain unemployed despite being available to perform work that has instead been assigned to newcomers.
It's a "brazen displacement of workers" the April 10 letter reads, "by major international corporations thumbing their noses at both the government of Canada, taxpayers and our skilled trades workers."
NextStar Energy and the federal government both say foreign workers account for just 72 jobs at the plant, and specialized equipment is being installed that Canadians will then be taught how to use.
Still, the union's executive director Sean Strickland said those are tasks that Canadian workers can already handle.
"We have 1,600 Canadian workers on the job site today, and we hope to keep it that way during the next phase of this project, where the work will turn to equipment installation," Strickland said in a statement.
"We remain able to provide the skilled labour necessary to perform this work."
On Thursday, Trudeau was in Alliston, Ont., to announce the latest multi-billion dollar investment in electric vehicles.
Honda is set to build a battery plant next to its assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles as part of a $15-billion project.
Trudeau sidestepped a question about whether the agreement with Honda includes explicit protection for Canadian workers.
"Actually the investments we're making, whether it's with NextStar, or here with Honda Motor Co., it's all about creating great jobs for Canadian workers, and that's what is actually being delivered," Trudeau said.
The company says 1,000 new jobs will be associated with the project.
But at this point, there have been no assurances that existing Honda workers in the community will be able to transition to the new jobs, said the national president of Unifor, Canada's primary auto union.
"We just need to make sure we're protecting workers in any way that we can," said Lana Payne.
When an automaker transitions its existing operation to an EV plant, that can impact up to 30 per cent of jobs in assembly plants and the auto-parts sector, Payne said, which is why it's important governments secure current workplace footprints.
Unifor has lobbied the federal and provincial governments to include protections for workers in their contracts with automakers that ensure income security, job security and the right to form a union.
Honda currently employees over 4,000 people in Alliston. They are non-unionized, but employees have held conversations around joining Unifor.
"For workers who don't have the benefit of a union, it's critically important that the government makes sure that those workers are protected through the transition period, working with employers to make sure they have those guarantees, particularly when government investments are being made," Payne said.
The Conservatives have demanded to see contracts the federal government has made with automakers, saying Trudeau cannot be trusted to protect Canadian jobs.
"We have seen before where Justin Trudeau announces massive subsidies that are supposed to create Canadian jobs, only to see him turn around and let those jobs be filled by foreign replacement workers and then lie about it," Sebastian Skamski, a spokesman for Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, said in a statement.
"We can't trust that his latest announcement of $5 billion in Canadian taxpayer money to another large multinational corporation will be any different."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has also called on the Liberal government to stop writing "blank cheques" without ironclad guarantees for unionized workers.
"There needs to be guarantees baked into any public dollar we spend, and should be tied to jobs and investments that benefit Canadians," Singh said.
"It should not be that we just give a blank cheque to a company and say we hope that you hire Canadians."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
One dead after potential wrong way crash on Highway 401 in Milton: OPP
One person is dead and another is in life-threatening condition after a driver was travelling in the wrong direction on Highway 401 in Milton Sunday, according to police.
Hamas says latest ceasefire talks have ended. Israel vows military operation in 'very near future'
The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after "in-depth and serious discussions,"{ the Hamas militant group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected.
B.C. man wants homes for thousands of books he soon won't be able to read
In the 10 years since John William started to lose his vision, he's been finding new ways to enjoy his vast personal library.
'The Fall Guy' gives Hollywood a muted summer kickoff with a US$28.5M opening
"The Fall Guy," the Ryan Gosling-led, action-comedy ode to stunt performers, opened below expectations with US$28.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, providing a lukewarm start to a summer movie season that's very much to be determined for Hollywood.
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc insists
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
William Shatner says he would consider 'Star Trek' return: 'Here comes Captain Kirk!'
The Montreal-born actor, famed for his portrayal of Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," says he is open to reprising the iconic role in the sci-fi franchise as long as the storytelling is stellar.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.