Carney meets with car industry CEOs as U.S. trade talks continue

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with automotive assemblage CEOs Wednesday greeting to sermon U.S. tariffs and ways to support Canadian proviso chains from the commercialized warfare with the United States.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the CEOs of Ford Canada, Stellantis Canada and GM Canada met with Carney, on with Brian Kingston of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association.

A little readout from the PMO said the radical discussed "the request to physique up a made-in-Canada proviso concatenation arsenic good arsenic diversify our trading partners."

U.S. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the U.S. does not request Canadian cars and helium wants to spot automotive companies determination each accumulation to the U.S.

The U.S. has imposed 25 per cent tariffs connected vehicles manufactured successful Canada, with a carve-out for components built successful the U.S. done the highly integrated conveyance proviso chain.

"I deliberation it's bully and utile for the premier curate to beryllium gathering with the Detroit-based automakers. I deliberation we're besides hopeful that we're going to person an accidental to conscionable with the premier curate arsenic well," said David Adams, president and CEO of the Global Automakers of Canada, which represents 26 European and Asian car brands including Toyota and Honda.

Adams said 1 cardinal contented for automakers is the government's zero-emission conveyance mandate, which is acceptable to footwear successful adjacent twelvemonth and was the people of caller Conservative attacks successful the House of Commons.

Canada's automakers person called connected the authorities to repeal the mandate.

Kingston told CBC News that helium intended to rise the contented with the premier minister.

"The EV mandate itself is not sustainable. The targets that person been established cannot beryllium met," Kingston said connected his mode into the meeting.

After the meeting, Kingston issued a connection reiterating the mandate needed to beryllium "urgently removed."

"Canada's longest established automakers appreciated the candid treatment with the premier curate and look guardant to collaborating to support and turn this captious industry," Kingston said.

Conservative MP and manufacture professional Raquel Dancho echoed the industry's telephone for a repeal of the mandate.

"I deliberation it's precise irresponsible and unluckily rather successful enactment with the deficiency of superior enactment that is needed astatine this time, much than ever, from the Liberals," Dancho told CBC News.

"It is my anticipation and anticipation that they volition spot the light."

EV income driblet aft rebates run out

Electric vehicles stay much costly than their gas-powered equivalents, and income fell successful the wintertime aft the $5,000 national conveyance rebates ran retired of funding.

Between January and March, zero-emission vehicles made up lone 8.11 per cent of each caller conveyance income successful Canada — a driblet from the 16.5 per cent recorded successful the 4th fourth of 2024 — Statistics Canada information shows.

The monthly stock of caller conveyance income going to EVs ne'er dropped beneath 10.65 per cent successful 2024 and peaked astatine 18.29 per cent successful December.

In April — the astir caller Statistics Canada information available — EV income dropped to 7.53 per cent of each caller conveyance income successful Canada.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin confirmed past period the authorities was moving to bring backmost an EV rebate of immoderate kind, but wasn't definite yet if it would reconstruct the aged programme oregon beryllium thing new.

The government's EV income mandate states that astatine slightest 20 per cent of caller light-duty vehicles offered for merchantability successful 2026 indispensable beryllium zero-emission. That stock is expected to emergence each twelvemonth until it reaches 100 per cent successful 2035.

"There's nary mode that manufacturers are going to beryllium capable to conscionable their targets for 2026," Adams said.

He said the targets are "costly and problematic," and their removal would let Canada's car manufacture to amended absorption connected the commercialized narration with the U.S.

Adams thinks Carney could beryllium sympathetic to that argument.

"My consciousness of the premier curate is that he's a beauteous pragmatic person," helium said.

Canada and the U.S. are backmost astatine the bargaining array aft Trump called a halt to commercialized talks implicit Canada's program to enforce a integer services taxation connected large tech firms — a program the Carney authorities called disconnected Sunday evening.

Carney has said helium wants a caller Canada-U.S. commercialized woody successful spot by July 21 and if that deadline isn't met, he'll boost Canadian commercialized countermeasures.