Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on a tear. This week he trotted out the b-word — “baloney” — to describe Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s call for tariffs on cheap Chinese-made EVs threatening to flood the Canadian market and demolish domestic manufacturing. In May, the U.S. hiked its tariffs to 100 per cent from 25 per cent, while the EU has set tariffs north of 38 per cent. The Canadian government just wrapped a 30-day consultation on the issue, with a decision expected soon.
But Trudeau didn’t pronounce himself on tariffs: instead, he attacked the Tories. “It’s a bit of a joke that Poilievre is suddenly talking about workers in the auto industry. He has said repeatedly that he wouldn’t be making these investments in our auto industry,” Trudeau said Monday at an EV announcement at a Goodyear plant in Napanee, Ont. “We have been there every step of the way, and the federal Conservatives continue to say they’d cut it all. … They don’t believe in investing in Canadian workers. So for him to suddenly turn around and say, ‘Oh we’re worried about EVs’? That’s baloney.”
What did Poilievre actually say? Last year, he expressed concern about the cost of government investments in the auto sector, including its $16.3 billion investment in a Volkswagen electric battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario. The plant is supposed to open in 2027 despite uncertainty in the EV sector. Zero-emission vehicles comprised 11.3 per cent of Canadian auto registrations in the first quarter of 2024, down from 12 per cent in the previous quarter, and U.S. growth is slowing even more.
Several plants that received government funding also hired foreign workers, not Canadians, an issue Poilievre raised in the House of Commons this year. It’s no secret the Conservatives are gunning for the working class vote for the next federal election, with a labour leader even endorsing the Conservative candidate in an upcoming Winnipeg byelection. The Liberals are nervous that NDP support could flow to the Tories, and are keen to staunch the bleeding.
The overarching issue for the Prime Minister, however, should be the one he avoided: the impact of cheap Chinese cars on national security. China seeks to undermine the stability of other nations through many means, including economic. It has indebted myriad nations in Africa through “debt trap diplomacy,” loaning money for infrastructure projects that these countries cannot repay. It has hollowed out the American manufacturing base by supplying cut-rate clothes and consumer goods, including some made by slave labour. And now, it seeks to dump inexpensive EVs into North America on the pretext of saving the planet — but really, to crush western automakers.
Apart from the impact on industry, there’s another concern: cybersecurity. We know that China scrapes data from TikTok: why wouldn’t it do so from cars as well? What would stop state-owned Chinese EV manufacturers from embedding surveillance equipment in their vehicles that could be used to track traffic patterns, fuel consumption, or even spy on individual users?
The United States government announced in February that it is investigating the issue of embedded surveillance in Chinese cars. Even our own government is doing so: in June Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland said “We’re also looking at the national security aspect of this; the security aspect including cybersecurity, when it comes to Chinese exports of high technology items, like EVs.”
So why is Trudeau now using the issue of Chinese EVs to score partisan points? Why is he not just taking a stand, siding with our allies, and safeguarding both Canadian jobs and Canadian sovereignty?
Perhaps one should call Beijing and ask. The relationship between Trudeau and China is so extensive, it would take another column to do it justice, so I’ll just link to this excellent piece by Terry Glavin and let you read about it there.
The whole affair is just another reason that Canada needs a change of leadership, both in the Liberal party and the government. But until Trudeau decides to drive off into the sunset, Canadians are stuck with policies that puts political interests first, and the nation’s priorities second.
Postmedia Network
Tasha Kheiriddin is Postmedia’s national politics columnist.