On Monday, Ontario premier Doug Ford doubled down on his condemnation of the federal government’s deal with China. Announced on Friday, the agreement will allow up to 49,000 electric vehicles into the Canadian market at a reduced tariff rate. In exchange, China will decrease its levies on canola and other Canadian products.

Ford argued that the deal would not only hurt the country’s auto industry, but also threaten Canadian security. “Once the camel gets his head in the tent, his whole body is in the tent,” he contended, later adding: “I’m not too sure if President [Donald] Trump wants Chinese spy vehicles coming across the border.”

Charlotte Yates, president and founding director of the Automotive Policy Research Centre—a non-profit research centre focused on the Canadian automotive industry—says she wasn’t surprised that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to China resulted in a deal, but she was surprised by the content of the deal. “I think Carney had gone to China looking to make some trade-offs,” she says. “I didn’t know how much he would give up, but he needed to do something. I’m not sure that we had any other option.”

The Walrus spoke to Yates on what Carney’s so-called “landmark” deal with China means for Canada—specifically the Ontario auto sector—and whether or not the industry insider thinks that letting in more EVs is as problematic as Ford is making it out to be.

In 2025, the United States imposed a 25 percent levy on Canadian automobiles. Where did that leave the Canadian auto sector?

Canada exports the bulk of its vehicles to the US, but Trump has been very clear: he doesn’t think the US needs Canadian-made cars. He seems fine with Canadian automotive parts moving back and forth—but not Canadian cars. As long as that is his position, the Canadian auto industry is going to shrink.

Automakers can’t wait for four more years, or longer, for a change in the American government to advance a different policy. For Canada to remain competitive, or to even have an auto industry, there had to be some change in government policy which makes sure that companies that do business here are committed to Canada: Canadian jobs, Canadian industry.

How are Trump’s policies playing out on the ground, company by company?

We have already lost production and market share as a result. The decision by GM to close the Ingersoll, Ontario, plant temporarily (in fall 2025) shouldn’t have been surprising to anyone, even without the tariffs. The decision by GM to shift from producing a high-volume vehicle to producing an electric van that didn’t have a strong market put this plant in jeopardy. Tariffs were actually the last straw.

You also have automaker Ford shifting away from the production of EVs to vehicles destined for non-US markets. Then there was the decision by Stellantis to shift production from Windsor to the........

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