Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – Canadian leaders said Wednesday that Jeep-maker Stellantis’s decision to invest $13 billion in the United States threatens Canadian jobs, urging action to counter what they called another casualty of President Donald Trump’s trade war. The automaker on Tuesday announced what it described as its largest US investment push in its 100-year history, aiming to create 5,000 jobs across the midwestern United States. Stellantis told AFP on Wednesday that “as part of this announcement, we will move one model from Canada to the US.”
UNIFOR, Canada’s largest private-sector union representing thousands of autoworkers, said the model in question is the Jeep Compass, which will shift from a plant in Brampton, Ontario, to Illinois. “Canadian auto jobs are being sacrificed on the Trump altar,” Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a statement, calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government “to use Canada’s leverage now to fight for our auto jobs.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday called the announcement “painful” for workers. “I have spoken with Stellantis to stress my disappointment with their decision to prioritize investment in the US,” Ford said, also urging Carney “to stand up for the 157,000 workers in Ontario’s auto sector.”
Reshoring auto jobs has been a central plank of Trump’s trade policy. Canada has been partially spared from his global auto sector tariffs through an existing North American trade pact. But the levies in place have created uncertainty for Canadian autoworkers. Carney, who met with Trump in Washington last week to advance trade talks, has expressed optimism about the prospects for a deal to cut tariffs in certain sectors like aluminum, but a breakthrough on autos appears less promising.
Reacting to the Stellantis announcement late Tuesday, Carney said the company’s decision was “a direct consequence of current US tariffs.” He said his government would continue to prioritize investments “that will transform our economy from being overly reliant on our largest trading partner (the US).” University of Toronto industrial relations expert Rafael Gomez told AFP that Canada needs to be prepared for a steady loss of auto assembly jobs over the coming years. Trump will not relent on tariffs designed to ensure more cars are made in the US, Gomez said. “Think of the photo op — cutting a ribbon in front of the first new Jeep made in Illinois in years,” he added. Canada should prioritize being an essential provider of auto parts to serve US assembly plants, Gomez said.
Stellantis told AFP it remains committed to Canada. “We have been in Canada for over 100 years, and we are investing,” the company said in a statement. “We have plans for Brampton and will share them upon further discussions with the Canadian government.”
© 2024 AFP
