If you couldn’t tell, Doug Ford is really upset about Canada’s recent agreement to import nearly 50,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
Over the past few days, the Ontario premier has said the deal will not only hurt domestic production, but also allow China to “spy” on Canadians through the EVs. He even likened this to national security concerns that led Canada to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G network in 2022. (This is despite the fact that there are countless other products made in China through which Canadians could be spied on, something Ford declined to address when asked about it.)
Now, Ford is calling for Canadians to boycott Chinese EVs entirely. Speaking at a news conference with the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, via CBC News, Ford said Canadians should only buy from automakers that have a manufacturing presence in Canada. He added that he doesn’t believe China will ever start producing vehicles here.
The deal with China was brokered when Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week. As part of their agreement, China will be able to bring up to 49,000 of its EVs into Canada at reduced tariffs, while Canada gets lower tariffs on canola oil.
On top of that, Carney says the move will help grow Canada’s auto sector, noting that there are unnamed Chinese companies that are interested in investing here.
“We’ve had direct conversations directly from the Chinese companies… with explicit interest and intention to partner with Canadian companies,” Carney said at a Sunday news conference in Qatar. “We’ll see what comes to pass. This is an opportunity for Ontario. It’s an opportunity for Ontario workers, opportunity for Canada, done in a controlled way with a modest start.”
However, national Unifor president Lana Payne argued that China doesn’t have much incentive to invest in Canada given that it already dominates in the EV space.
“Given China’s massive, and I say massive, overcapacity in EV production, there is little reason for those companies to establish real and meaningful manufacturing operations in our country,” she said at the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association conference. She said “we must collectively come together to stabilize and protect the auto sector” to ensure its future.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Via: CBC News
