Canada’s largest private sector union is calling on Ottawa to keep its 100 per cent surtax on electric vehicles imported from China, warning that removing it would threaten auto jobs across the country.
Unifor submitted its position to the federal government’s Section 53 review of the tariff, saying Chinese automakers enjoy unfair advantages through state subsidies, weak labour standards and carbon-intensive production.
“Lifting tariffs on China will make a bad situation far worse, if Canada becomes a dumping ground for cheap, unfairly subsidized imports,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne. “It would be nothing short of a self-inflicted wound at a time when one-third of our members at Detroit Three facilities in Canada are on layoff, with three automobile assembly plants sitting idle.”
The union said lifting the surtax now would risk undoing recent investments in vehicle assembly, battery production and critical minerals. It is asking Ottawa to extend the surtax for at least 24 months, broaden it to include EV and battery components, and reinstate federal EV rebates restricted to Canadian and North American-built vehicles. The union also wants stronger enforcement against goods made with forced labour.
Unifor said Canada should align its approach with the United States and Mexico. The U.S. has combined tariffs of 127.5 per cent on Chinese EVs and plans to restrict connected car technology by 2027, while Mexico raised its EV import tariffs to 50 per cent this year after Chinese vehicles surged to 70 per cent of its market.
Make the factories here, would solve most of that and take care of Unifor’s workers.