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.
The US is currently down 90,000 manufacturing jobs. Green industry startups are being terminated and we are paying foreign companies to stop wind power projects and change to petroleum projects. Environmental regulations are being stripped, scientific research and higher education is being dismantled and the free press is being muzzled. Our markets are being openly manipulated for profit by our leaders, and the independence of the federal bank is being threatened. We are threatening and attacking other sovereign nations, nato, EU and the UN. Starting wars and supporting genocide.
I think obsolescence was a gentle choice of words. We appear to actually be suicidal to be honest.
I definitely look at my northern neighbor with jealousy and great admiration.
Thank you for your homest and informative articles.
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.
Very true about an all-out squeeze. As we quietly pivot, it is my sincere hope Canadians will have patience and foresight as things transition to whatever shakes out for our new world and trade agreements.
I think you should qualify that statement Fred.The US isn't trying to wreck Canada. But the Trump government most certainly is, and Trump has been quite open about it.
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.
All true, but what I've been watching is the lack of effort to *invest* in new manufacturing. Most of what this sock puppet is doing is driving us backward and down.
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.
So I can buy a Canadian made Honda that will be more reliable then a Canadian made Ram Pickup. Fuck America. We dont need a deal with them soon Ontario workers will be building Chinese designed EV's.
This is way to much hopium dressed up in misunderstanding. First off the US wants our auto jobs. There is no BACK! We didn't borrow or steal their jobs. They were ours all along. The short history pre auto pact Canada had its own self sustaining auto industry because of tariffs. We had our own Ford GM and Chrysler auto plants and our own name for most car models. We made our own parts did our own assembly. The auto pact brought a rationalization of the North American auto industry and ended tariffs. The multinationals had economies of scale and improved profits. White collar workers took a hit but factory workers kept their jobs and the industry prospered and integration was started Canadian production became branch plants and economies of scale brought further rationalizations in supply chains. NAFTA brought in Mexico and broader industrial integration. Canada had a 300,000 person lost jobs speed bump, but again we prospered while jobs sermed to ever be moving to Mexico, advanced manufacturing and robotics also resulted in job loses. Because of free trade Honda and Toyota located in Ontario and 90% of what they sell goes to the US.
Fast forward to today. The US policy begore Trump was America first production but agreements were respected. There was 50+ year of integrated co-operation. That ended with Trump. He realized that the integration made Canada susceptible. We were branch plants just do it in America so tariffs. Well the evicerstion of America first reduced the big 3 to less than 25% of autos assembled in Canada. Toyota and Honda arethe major players in Canada sending 90% of their output to the US. The current tariff structure costs them significantly for non-US content. They have invested billions and want to ride this soeed bump out but the current situation is not sustainable. So thevTrump plan is getcassembly in yhe US and oarts will follow. Econkmic terrorism and instavility being the drivers. And he's winning. So the total obliteration of the Canadian auto industry is not solved by the name plate of the car or truck that you drive. Its solve by a Canada first auto industrialization strategy embraxing a reinvention of a Canadian based and controlled auto industry just as it was before the auto pact. Sounds simple but it requires ab extraordinary amount of investment and support. Doable in a 5+ year time horizon. That would be the direction I would want us ti take Build Canada Strong!
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.
The US is currently down 90,000 manufacturing jobs. Green industry startups are being terminated and we are paying foreign companies to stop wind power projects and change to petroleum projects. Environmental regulations are being stripped, scientific research and higher education is being dismantled and the free press is being muzzled. Our markets are being openly manipulated for profit by our leaders, and the independence of the federal bank is being threatened. We are threatening and attacking other sovereign nations, nato, EU and the UN. Starting wars and supporting genocide.
I think obsolescence was a gentle choice of words. We appear to actually be suicidal to be honest.
I definitely look at my northern neighbor with jealousy and great admiration.
Thank you for your homest and informative articles.
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.
Very true about an all-out squeeze. As we quietly pivot, it is my sincere hope Canadians will have patience and foresight as things transition to whatever shakes out for our new world and trade agreements.
I think you should qualify that statement Fred.The US isn't trying to wreck Canada. But the Trump government most certainly is, and Trump has been quite open about it.
Totally
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.
All true, but what I've been watching is the lack of effort to *invest* in new manufacturing. Most of what this sock puppet is doing is driving us backward and down.
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.
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.
So I can buy a Canadian made Honda that will be more reliable then a Canadian made Ram Pickup. Fuck America. We dont need a deal with them soon Ontario workers will be building Chinese designed EV's.
This is way to much hopium dressed up in misunderstanding. First off the US wants our auto jobs. There is no BACK! We didn't borrow or steal their jobs. They were ours all along. The short history pre auto pact Canada had its own self sustaining auto industry because of tariffs. We had our own Ford GM and Chrysler auto plants and our own name for most car models. We made our own parts did our own assembly. The auto pact brought a rationalization of the North American auto industry and ended tariffs. The multinationals had economies of scale and improved profits. White collar workers took a hit but factory workers kept their jobs and the industry prospered and integration was started Canadian production became branch plants and economies of scale brought further rationalizations in supply chains. NAFTA brought in Mexico and broader industrial integration. Canada had a 300,000 person lost jobs speed bump, but again we prospered while jobs sermed to ever be moving to Mexico, advanced manufacturing and robotics also resulted in job loses. Because of free trade Honda and Toyota located in Ontario and 90% of what they sell goes to the US.
Fast forward to today. The US policy begore Trump was America first production but agreements were respected. There was 50+ year of integrated co-operation. That ended with Trump. He realized that the integration made Canada susceptible. We were branch plants just do it in America so tariffs. Well the evicerstion of America first reduced the big 3 to less than 25% of autos assembled in Canada. Toyota and Honda arethe major players in Canada sending 90% of their output to the US. The current tariff structure costs them significantly for non-US content. They have invested billions and want to ride this soeed bump out but the current situation is not sustainable. So thevTrump plan is getcassembly in yhe US and oarts will follow. Econkmic terrorism and instavility being the drivers. And he's winning. So the total obliteration of the Canadian auto industry is not solved by the name plate of the car or truck that you drive. Its solve by a Canada first auto industrialization strategy embraxing a reinvention of a Canadian based and controlled auto industry just as it was before the auto pact. Sounds simple but it requires ab extraordinary amount of investment and support. Doable in a 5+ year time horizon. That would be the direction I would want us ti take Build Canada Strong!