GM Just Axed Canadian Jobs And Our Leaders Are Still Talking Like It’s a Weather Report
My family helped build GM for three generations. This isn’t politics... it’s personal.
Here’s the bone-ugly truth… loyalty means nothing to a spreadsheet.
While everyone was arguing about mandates and slogans, General Motors quietly cut a shift at its Oshawa plant.
Translation… hundreds gone.
Possibly 1,200 workers out the door.
And GM had the nerve to say this “reinforces the plant’s future.”
Nothing says “bright future” like pink slips.
That’s corporate-speak for…
“We’re moving the work somewhere cheaper. Good luck.”
Why this one hits me different
This isn’t abstract for me.
This isn’t “news cycle outrage.”
I’ve got generations of family who worked for GM.
Assembly lines.
Shifts. Overtime. Cold mornings. Pension years.
Paycheques from that plant helped raise kids, pay mortgages, keep lights on.
Some of those pensions?
Still feeding my family today.
So when a shift disappears in Oshawa, it’s not numbers on a spreadsheet.
It’s personal.
I’ve got skin in this game.
Always have.
Why this actually happened (no spin)
This isn’t about productivity.
Not about EVs.
Not about workers being lazy.
It’s math.
The U.S. slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian-built vehicles.
So if GM builds here and sells there…
their price jumps 25%.
No CEO is going to eat that.
So they shift production south.
Cold. Clinical. Spreadsheet logic.
Factories don’t run on patriotism.
They run on margins.
And then came the political tap-dancing
Enter Doug Ford.
His solution?
“Be more competitive.”
“Drop the EV mandate.”
That’s like your house being on fire and you’re rearranging the sofa.
The tariff is the problem.
Not the plug-in Prius.
Meanwhile Unifor rolls out the old chant…
“If you sell here, build here.”
Nice slogan.
Makes a good T-shirt.
Does absolutely nothing to a multinational corporation.
Here’s the part nobody says out loud
Canada isn’t some tiny customer.
We’re not begging for scraps.
We’re their biggest buyer.
Last year we imported $15+ billion in U.S.-built vehicles.
So here’s the leverage nobody wants to use…
If they build there?
Stop buying them.
Simple.
Not angry.
Not dramatic.
Just… stop.
Consumers control demand.
Demand controls factories.
Factories follow money.
It’s not ideology… it’s gravity.
The smarter play (instead of whining)
Two moves…
1. Hit demand
Buy Ontario-built. Skip U.S.-built when there’s an alternative.
2. Diversify
Invite other manufacturers.
Companies like BYD already build electric buses here.
Why not cars too?
We did this with Honda and Toyota decades ago.
Worked then.
Works now.
You don’t win a trade fight by clinging to one customer like a nervous ex.
You date around.
My blunt take
Here’s the GeezerWise version…
If your biggest customer treats you like a doormat…
Stop being a doormat.
And when you’ve got family members who punched those timecards for 30 years,
you don’t get to shrug and say “that’s just business.”
You fight smarter.
Because this isn’t politics.
It’s people.
It’s pensions.
It’s dignity.
Bottom line
I feel for every worker walking out of that plant with a cardboard box.
I know exactly what that job means.
But slogans won’t save them.
Strategy will.
Buy local when you can.
Pressure with your dollars.
Diversify supply.
Less chest-thumping.
More chess.
That’s how adults fight back.
Source note: Based on reporting and commentary regarding the GM Oshawa shift reduction and Canadian auto trade impacts.
Canada Strong Movement… House Rule & Disclosure
Canada Strong exists to defend Canadian sovereignty, democratic norms, and economic independence… without imported talking points or borrowed outrage.
House rule… Facts and good-faith discussion are welcome. I use AI tools to help turn my spoken drafts into clear writing. I’m 73, my hands shake, and I type with two fingers… so I speak first, then edit.
The ideas, positions, and final message are mine.
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I agree. Now, perhaps if we go with the SAAB fighter jet and surveillance aircraft bid, these highly skilled workers can transition into the aeronautical field. Also, if we go with the South Korean submarine purchase, the promise to move auto production to Canada also affords opportunities for the workers.