‘Get this right’: Doug Ford urges Mark Carney to keep 100% tariff on Chinese EVs

The Front Bench Panel discusses Ontario Premier Ford’s 401 tunnel pitch to PM Carney, priorities like pipelines, and Canada’s retreat on Chinese EV tariffs.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to maintain a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

The push comes as Ottawa plans to revisit tariff measures, with Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald recently confirming the policy is under review.

Last week, a Nanos Research survey for CTV News found 62 per cent of Canadians support removing the tariff if it meant Beijing would ease its restrictions on domestic crops like canola. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada data shows EV sales in Canada have dipped by 39.2 per cent, adding further pressure for Carney to potentially consider shifting course.

What’s at stake for Ontario?

In a newly released letter, penned to the prime minister, Ford explains the tariff has been “key to protecting more than $46 billion in automotive, EV and battery supply chain investments” made since 2020.

He warned that lifting it would jeopardize “more than 157,000 direct jobs in Ontario and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs across the country.”

“As you know, China’s pervasive use of non-market policies and practices, including heavy subsidization and low environmental and labour standards, gives its industry unfair advantages over Canadian automotive manufacturers,” Ford wrote. “Maintaining Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made EVs is essential to levelling the playing field.”

Trade tensions deepen

Canada imposed the 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs last October, alongside duties on EV batteries, critical minerals, solar panels and semiconductors. China retaliated with a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal, plus additional levies on pork, fish and seafood.

• READ MORE: China hits back at Canada with fresh agriculture tariffs

In the letter, Ford pointed to Mexico’s decision to apply a 50 per cent tariff on vehicles from China as a warning sign for Canada.

“Removing Canada’s tariffs on Chinese-made EVs risks isolating our automotive sector within North America, putting Canadian auto workers’ jobs at serious risk,” he wrote.

Ford’s consistent stance

At the Council of the Federation meeting in Huntsville, Ont., in July, Ford repeated his support for tariffs on Chinese EVs and 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum. He has also taken aim at Mexico in the past, calling it a “backdoor” for Chinese parts and products entering North America.

In his latest letter, Ford said continuing the EV tariff would “complement” Carney’s recent decision to pause the federal sales mandate.

“The future of Canada should be made and built by Canadian workers,” Ford concluded. “Hundreds of thousands of workers and their families are depending on us to get this right.”