Canada wants its money back from GM after Oshawa cuts

Canada will seek to recover millions in government incentives from General Motors after the automaker confirmed plans to lay off 500 workers at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Industry Minister Melanie Joly said the clawback relates to both the Oshawa facility and GM’s Ingersoll plant, where the company ended Brightdrop e-van production in October in 2025.

The federal and Ontario governments each pledged up to CA$250m (US$192m) in 2022 to upgrade the two factories, funding that provincial officials hoped would secure 2,600 Canadian jobs. The Oshawa plant builds Chevrolet Silverado pickups partly for export to the US; a third shift was cancelled in January 2026 due to purported fluctuations in demand. 

Despite this claim production is actually being moved over to the US, although GM has denied any relation between the cuts and US trade policy. The automaker has also denied any link to the Canadian government’s new policy allowing the import of up to 49,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from China annually.

Joly stated during a 31 January interview with CBC that Ottawa is determining the precise amount to reclaim but described it as being in the “millions”. She said that Canada would prioritise investments with companies committed to maintaining domestic jobs: “If GM doesn’t want to continue to invest more in Canada, we will invest more in other players.”

GM has maintained that preparations are underway for the production of its next generation of internal combustion engine-powered full-size pickups at Oshawa, supported by a US$208m investment. The company said the shift reduction is unrelated to U.S. tariffs or Canada’s policy allowing limited imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, production of the Brightdrop e-van is considered to be officially and permanently ended, with no signs of a production restart either in Canada or elsewhere. The production end came alongside the closure of the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll following protracted low sales for the model; in Q1 2025 it sold only 276 units. 

Canada’s automotive sector faces mounting pressure from ongoing trade tension with its southern neighbour and delayed investments, with Stellantis also cancelling Jeep Compass production plans in Ontario last October. Joly did note some positive developments;  for example, Toyota’s recent launch of RAV4 production in the province and Honda’s maintained workforce despite pausing EVF supply chain plans.