Liberal Leader Carney says Winnipeg's NFI Group will be exempt from Canada's counter-tariffs

Bartley Kives · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 3:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Liberal Leader Mark Carney says Canada volition exempt Winnipeg's NFI Group from Canadian counter-tariffs connected U.S. materials to let the autobus shaper to stay competitory connected some sides of the border.

During a run halt successful Winnipeg Tuesday, Carney said there is simply a "need for alleged remission orders" on counter-tariffs so NFI and each of its subsidiaries stay competitory successful Canada and the United States.

"That's astute from the Canadian position and that's the benignant of attack this authorities is taking," the Liberal person said at a manufacturing installation astatine NFI's campus successful the northeast Winnipeg Transcona area.

Early past month, Canada imposed 25 per cent counter-tariffs connected American goods, successful retaliation for a 25 per cent tariff slapped connected virtually each Canadian goods by U.S. President Donald Trump.

NFI, 1 of the world's largest autobus manufacturers, employs astir 8,500 radical successful 9 countries. President and CEO Paul Soubry said his institution has made efforts for years to enactment astir U.S. protectionism and support itself afloat successful the look of the existent commercialized war.

"Two-thirds of each of our transit buses are physically 100 per cent made successful the United States, anyway. The one-third, we physique the ammunition present and we vessel them crossed the border, truthful I don't spot a script wherever we're shutting down Winnipeg and moving it all to the United States," Soubry said aft Carney spoke.

"Are we going to person to set immoderate of the capableness and immoderate of the … accumulation lines and truthful forth? We'll spot however that comes out. We bash person a good-sized Canadian lawsuit base."

By September, each buses made by NFI Group for Canadian customers volition beryllium built successful Canada, helium said, acknowledgment to $38 cardinal worthy of national and provincial backing announced successful October, earlier Trump was re-elected.

"There's a win-win here, due to the fact that portion we tin bash this and summation jobs for Canadians — high-skilled, high-paid, method jobs — we escaped up U.S. capableness that we person for U.S. customers," Soubry said.

NFI Group has weathered a hard 5 years, starting with a large slowdown of orders during the pandemic and supply-chain issues that followed it, Soubry noted, adding respective of NFI Group's competitors did not survive.