Fear and uncertainty for Ontario autoworkers after Trump announces 25% tariff

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

On a time erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump took purpose astatine the conveyance manufacturing industry, Ontario autoworkers said it's the latest question successful what's been a tempest of uncertainty and much impervious the Canadian manufacture needs authorities support.

Late Wednesday, Trump said he'd signed an enforcement order that will impose a 25 per cent import tariff connected vehicles not made successful the United States. Although the afloat implications of the tariff weren't instantly clear, he said the levy volition footwear successful connected April 2 and suggested it could commencement astatine a basal complaint of 2.5 per cent. 

Trump's connection came the aforesaid day Canadian Liberal Leader Mark Carney was successful Windsor, Ont., 1 of the beforehand lines of the tariff war, wherever helium promised $2 cardinal successful caller supports for the home car manufacture portion campaigning for the April 28 national election. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Trump's latest action a "full frontal onslaught connected autoworkers." Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said tariffs are impacting workers connected some sides of the border.

Trump's governmental parrying has dealt another blow to an car manufacture that's had much than its stock of ups, downs and shutdowns successful caller years.

For Ontario autoworkers astatine GM's CAMI Assembly works successful Ingersoll, and others successful the industry, the assistance can't travel soon enough.

"There's a batch of uncertainty, and that creates a batch of fear," said Bonita McCarthy, a CAMI works worker since 2011 who present trains workers arsenic a Unifor union rep.

The works retooled successful 2022 truthful that it could commencement producing the new BrightDrop electrical transportation vehicle. 

While the determination to the BrightDrop has kept the works running, determination have been occasional shutdowns for reasons including parts shortages and different proviso concatenation issues. 

"We haven't worked a afloat twelvemonth since COVID," said McCarthy. 

Kim Dionne, a former GM works worker who present works with Unifor, is besides frustrated by the U.S. determination to enforce tariffs, saying they'll inflict harm connected some sides of the border. 

"The U.S. president ... he's made it wide helium doesn't privation a Canadian car industry, but we've been gathering cars successful Canada for implicit 100 years," she said. "These are our jobs." 

Dionne pointed retired that vehicles and parts transverse the border often arsenic they spell done assorted stages of assembly, and question on a analyzable and integrated network that's taken years to build. 

She sees U.S. autoworkers arsenic her colleagues, not arsenic competitors.

"I consciousness similar we enactment together," she said. "We're each employed by GM. It's not similar [Trump] tin say, 'We're going to tariff the crap retired of the Canadian car industry' and they're going to unfastened up store [in the U.S.] tomorrow. That's not going to happen. By the clip those U.S. plants are acceptable for radical to enactment successful them, Trump is going to beryllium retired of office." 

Workers endure predominant enactment stoppages

Brent Tree is president of Unifor Local 88, which represents workers astatine the CAMI plant. 

He said there's a misconception that autoworkers each gain $70 oregon much an hour, but they have to enactment successful years to make top wages and endure enactment stoppages that marque fiscal readying a challenge.

"It truly has an effect connected our members — cipher tin marque immoderate benignant of commitments, acquisition a house," helium said. "A batch of people, not conscionable successful auto, are surviving paycheque to paycheque." 

Dionne said she supports immoderate measure, careless of the person putting it forward, than tin bring enactment and stableness to an manufacture facing an unprecedented menace successful Trump.

"We request to put successful Canada and marque definite that our suppliers tin nutrient the parts that are needed present truthful that we tin proviso our ain industry," she said. "We've benefited from that, but present we spot however rapidly it tin change. One person's determination disrupts a full industry." 

Tree said the supports Carney is offering marque sense, but he'll perceive to ideas from immoderate enactment that tin assistance enactment an industry. The GM works employs much than 1,300 workers. 

"I truly anticipation they're talking astir the manufacture and not conscionable looking for my vote," helium said. "I ne'er miss a ballot but I anticipation they are listening to us." 

In a mean year, according to the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, astir 80 per cent of vehicles made successful Canada — astir each from Ontario — are exported to the U.S. It's astir $53 cardinal worthy of exports.