Ontario’s Doug Ford urges boycott of Chinese EV imports

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called on Canadians to boycott Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) just days after Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a deal with Beijing to allow 49,000 units annually at a substantially reduced 6.1% tariff rate. Appearing at Queen’s Park on 21 January, Ford was accompanied by automotive industry executives and Unifor national president Lana Payne at Queen’s Park as he urged consumers to “support companies that are building vehicles here” rather than purchasing imports produced at lower labour costs.

Under the agreement, tariffs on Chinese-made EVs are reduced from a previous rate of 100% in exchange for significant reductions to Beijing’s levies on Canadian-produced canola seed, as well as promised elimination of tariffs on other goods. The Prime Minister’s office has defended the arrangement, noting that 49,000 annual imports only really equates to around 3% of the country’s total automotive market. In return, it argued, the measures “will catalyse considerable Chinese joint-venture investments which will create good-paying and sustainable careers for Canadians”.

Ford stated that he had received only hours’ notice before Carney announced the agreement in Beijing, and has yet to discuss the deal with the Prime Minister. “It takes about three seconds to make a phone call or a text message. None of us received anything,” Ford said, referring to himself and the automotive and union leaders in attendance. Brian Kingston, President of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, described Ottawa’s decision as “deeply concerning”, warning that it risks the future of the integrated North American automotive supply chain.

Unifor’s Payne, for her part, warned that opening the market to Chinese EVs threatens a fragile industry already suffering from approximately 4,000 autoworker job losses due to US President Donald Trump’s persistent tariff threats. “There’s no sugar coating this. We are in the fight of our lives here fending off Trump’s tariffs, and that fight just got a little harder,” she stated. Flavio Volpe, President of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, noted that 50,000 vehicles represents roughly one manufacturing shift employing 1,000 workers directly as well as up to 5,000 workers in the wider supply chain.

For Carney, the pivot towards China follows a year of antagonistic behaviour from the Trump administration, including tariff threats and proclamations about seizing Greenland, a self-governing territory within the NATO-allied Kingdom of Denmark. The Canadian Prime Minister travelled to Beijing in January 2026, marking the first time a Canadian leader has visited in eight years. 

According to Carney, the agreement established what he described as a “principled and pragmatic” strategic partnership with President Xi Jinping focused on clean energy, agriculture and finance. The Prime Minister reported finding “much alignment” with Beijing regarding issues of Arctic sovereignty, both parties quite transparently using their new relationship as a counterweight to pressure from the Trump administration.

The strategy represents what Carney described as a “variable geometry” approach; that is, forming specific coalitions based on interests rather than relying solely on the US. Carney also used his remarks in Beijing to describe the end of the ostensibly rules-based international order—one he conceded was tilted heavily in the favour of the hegemonic US. 

Canadian officials indicated that Ottawa plans to reserve preferential domestic market access for foreign automakers building vehicles in Canada under a new policy to be released in February. According to Carney, the EV quota is likely to increase by about 6% annually and reach 70,000 in half a decade. Half of the quota will be reserved for vehicles costing CA$35,000 (US$25,300) or less.