Carney is Failing Auto Workers
Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, and Raquel Dancho, Shadow Minister for Industry, released the following statement on Mark Carney’s failure to protect auto workers in Canada:
“During the last election, Mark Carney promised to ‘negotiate a win,’ ‘handle’ Donald Trump and get a deal with the US by July 21, 2025. He has done the exact opposite. Everywhere Carney goes, higher tariffs follow and Canadians pay the price.
“Last night, more than 3,000 Stellantis workers in Brampton got the call that the company is moving Jeep production to Illinois, investing $13 billion USD in American factories and American workers. The Liberals gave Stellantis up to $10 billion in taxpayer subsidies for an EV plant in Ontario but failed to secure any job protection guarantee for its workers across the sector.
“Mark Carney’s response is for auto workers to wait until he can renegotiate CUSMA. After failing to get the deal he promised three months ago, auto workers can no longer afford to wait. Thousands now have to worry about paying their mortgages, putting food on the table or having to tell their kids they can’t afford to register for hockey this winter.
“Seven hundred GM workers in Oshawa have already lost their jobs while GM has announced $4 billion USD in investment in the US. Five hundred CAMI workers in Ingersoll have lost their jobs to the US and a hundred and fifty workers at Stellantis were already sent home, even before last night’s news, while the company invested $10 billion USD in the US.
“Since the Prime Minister took office, 97,700 more Canadians are out of work. Our auto, lumber, steel and agriculture sectors are in freefall because of his failure.
“A recap of all the gains Carney got in his productive meeting on October 7th at the White House:
- On October 8, the U.S. Commerce Secretary confirmed tariffs on Canadian finished autos will be permanent.
- On October 14, U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber increased another 10%—now triple what they were when Carney took office promising wins.
- On October 14, Stellantis announced that they were putting 3,000 Canadian jobs at risk.
“Conservatives call on Prime Minister Carney to keep his word, not leave any Canadians behind and deliver a ‘win’ for auto workers.”