I am so jealous Canada is getting Chinese made EVs as well. They are so much more advanced and cheaper than anything the US produces and with trump rolling back all the emission standards and trying to block all the green technologies it is only going to get worse.
I think when those Chinese imports start arriving that percentage of vehicles bought from the US will plummet even further.
The US is being put on a path to obsolescence on many fronts. Vehicles are just the tip of the iceberg.
Do you know what I'd like to see Fred? Canadian people buying nothing but Toyota's and Honda's built in Canada. If the Big 3 American makers agree to keep their operations producing in Canada, they should get some business too but I think they're all plotting tracks to the south already. And when they do bolt, Mr. Carney should sue their asses off for breaching the contracts they signed for our taxpayer support.
The US is going to do all it can economically and financially to make life uncomfortable and downright miserable for Canada and Canadians. And the regime is asking US auto makers how quickly they can retool to make munitions… not buying American cars is a good thing although that hurts Canadian labour, and Doug Ford is going to be very weird about it, but looking back, the American automakers have been slowly pulling out of Canada for a long time, getting concessions just to keep the jobs. And here’s what we now know: appeasement does not work, does not get what we want or need. Don’t call it a boycott. Call it a pivot.
There’s definitely a shift happening, Frances… no question.
But I’d be careful with the “all-out squeeze” idea. The U.S. isn’t trying to wreck Canada — it’s trying to pull production back inside its own borders. That’s a different game.
And you’re right about something important…
This didn’t start yesterday.
The auto sector has been slowly drifting for years...
incentives, concessions, constant pressure to stay competitive.
None of this is coming out of nowhere.
Where I think you nailed it is the word pivot.
Because that’s what this really is.
Not a loud, emotional boycott…
Just a steady change in behaviour.
Consumers, companies, governments... all adjusting at the same time.
And yeah… that comes with trade-offs.
Less reliance on U.S. manufacturing might protect some things…
but it also puts pressure on Canadian jobs in the short term.
Makes sense to me that Orange Foolius would try to pull manufacturing away from Canada; he promised to make all things American great again (I didn't say he's *doing* that!), and that means he has to "bring back" manufacturing. But instead of investing in exciting new projects, like Biden was doing, he just wants to revert a few decades and try to pull the costs from wherever he can find them.
The last time I had an American made car it was back in the early 90's. It was a blue Camaro that ended up shedding its paint off the hood. Have never owned another American made car since. You only get to fool me once.
Haven't had a US car since 2000. And no plans to buy one either. If my 15 year old made in Canada Honda gives out before I give up my license, it will be a made in Canada EV for me.
I am so jealous Canada is getting Chinese made EVs as well. They are so much more advanced and cheaper than anything the US produces and with trump rolling back all the emission standards and trying to block all the green technologies it is only going to get worse.
I think when those Chinese imports start arriving that percentage of vehicles bought from the US will plummet even further.
The US is being put on a path to obsolescence on many fronts. Vehicles are just the tip of the iceberg.
You’re not wrong about the shift… but I’d slow down on the “obsolescence” part.
What’s happening isn’t one country falling behind... it’s the market opening up.
China is pushing hard on EVs with price and scale.
The U.S. is trying to protect its manufacturing base.
Canada sits in the middle… and gets to choose.
And that’s the real story.
Consumers don’t care about politics nearly as much as price, quality, and availability.
If better options show up… people buy them.
That’s not ideology... that’s math.
Do you know what I'd like to see Fred? Canadian people buying nothing but Toyota's and Honda's built in Canada. If the Big 3 American makers agree to keep their operations producing in Canada, they should get some business too but I think they're all plotting tracks to the south already. And when they do bolt, Mr. Carney should sue their asses off for breaching the contracts they signed for our taxpayer support.
I get the instinct, Frank… support what’s built here. Makes sense.
But it’s not as clean as “buy this, not that.”
A lot of those Toyota and Honda vehicles are built in Canada...
and so are some from the Big 3.
The supply chains are all tangled together across the border.
That’s the part people miss.
What is changing though… is leverage.
If companies start shifting production south after taking Canadian incentives, there’s definitely a conversation to be had about accountability.
Governments don’t hand out support for fun.
But at the consumer level?
Same story as always...
People will support local… right up until price, availability, or value pulls them somewhere else.
That’s the real battleground.
The US is going to do all it can economically and financially to make life uncomfortable and downright miserable for Canada and Canadians. And the regime is asking US auto makers how quickly they can retool to make munitions… not buying American cars is a good thing although that hurts Canadian labour, and Doug Ford is going to be very weird about it, but looking back, the American automakers have been slowly pulling out of Canada for a long time, getting concessions just to keep the jobs. And here’s what we now know: appeasement does not work, does not get what we want or need. Don’t call it a boycott. Call it a pivot.
There’s definitely a shift happening, Frances… no question.
But I’d be careful with the “all-out squeeze” idea. The U.S. isn’t trying to wreck Canada — it’s trying to pull production back inside its own borders. That’s a different game.
And you’re right about something important…
This didn’t start yesterday.
The auto sector has been slowly drifting for years...
incentives, concessions, constant pressure to stay competitive.
None of this is coming out of nowhere.
Where I think you nailed it is the word pivot.
Because that’s what this really is.
Not a loud, emotional boycott…
Just a steady change in behaviour.
Consumers, companies, governments... all adjusting at the same time.
And yeah… that comes with trade-offs.
Less reliance on U.S. manufacturing might protect some things…
but it also puts pressure on Canadian jobs in the short term.
No clean wins here.
Just a country recalibrating in real time.
Canadas Auto Industry in name only . It’s American Companies that control The Auto Industry in Canada.
There’s truth in that Callura… but it’s not the whole picture.
Yes, a lot of the major plants here are owned by U.S.-based companies like General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis.
But the work, the jobs, and a big chunk of the supply chain?
That’s Canadian.
And it’s not just American firms either... you’ve got Toyota and Honda building vehicles here too.
So it’s less “in name only”…
and more a deeply integrated system that’s been stitched together across borders for decades.
Which is exactly why this current shift is such a big deal.
You don’t pull on one thread without feeling it everywhere.
Makes sense to me that Orange Foolius would try to pull manufacturing away from Canada; he promised to make all things American great again (I didn't say he's *doing* that!), and that means he has to "bring back" manufacturing. But instead of investing in exciting new projects, like Biden was doing, he just wants to revert a few decades and try to pull the costs from wherever he can find them.
There’s definitely a “bring it back home” push in all of this… that part’s real.
But it’s not just about one leader or one party.
Reshoring manufacturing has been building for years...
supply chain shocks, geopolitics, and national security all pushed it in that direction.
What’s different now is how aggressive the approach is.
Less about building new capacity…
more about pulling existing production back across the border.
And that’s where the friction shows up.
Because when you try to rewind a system that’s been integrated for decades…
it doesn’t move cleanly.
It pushes back.
The last time I had an American made car it was back in the early 90's. It was a blue Camaro that ended up shedding its paint off the hood. Have never owned another American made car since. You only get to fool me once.
Fair enough, Carole… nothing teaches faster than a bad experience.
That said, the industry today isn’t what it was back in the 90s.
Quality gaps have narrowed a lot... across the board.
But here’s the thing…
Trust sticks longer than improvements do.
Once someone feels burned, it’s not about specs or stats anymore... it’s about memory.
And enough people making that same decision?
That’s how market share quietly shifts.
Haven't had a US car since 2000. And no plans to buy one either. If my 15 year old made in Canada Honda gives out before I give up my license, it will be a made in Canada EV for me.
That’s the pattern right there, Mary.
Long-term ownership… local build… and then a natural upgrade path when the time comes.
Your 15-year run says more than any ad campaign ever could.
And if your next vehicle is Canadian-built again... especially an EV...
that’s exactly how this “pivot” plays out in real life.
Not loud.
Just one decision at a time.