Prime Minister Mark Carney is framing his electric vehicle deal with China last week as an "opportunity" for Ontario and autoworkers, despite criticism from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the union representing Canadian autoworkers.
Speaking in Doha, Qatar over the weekend, Carney said there is interest in Chinese companies producing affordable electric vehicles in Canada, The Canadian Press reports.
"We've had direct conversations directly from the Chinese companies... with explicit interest and intention to partner with Canadian companies," Carney told media Sunday.
"We'll see what comes to pass. This is an opportunity for Ontario. It's an opportunity for Ontario workers, opportunity for Canada, done in a controlled way with a modest start."
The prime minister did not name any specific companies Canadian officials have had contact with.
Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an agreement Friday that will see Canada allow Chinese electric vehicles into the country at a "most-favoured-nation tariff rate" of 6.1%.
The deal includes an annual import quota of up to 49,000 Chinese EVs, rising to 70,000 by 2031, and 50% must have an import price of under $35,000 by 2030.
The initial quota amounts to less than 3% of annual new car sales in Canada. CP says Ottawa does not see granting Chinese electric vehicles favourable tariffs under the new quota scheme as an economic threat to the domestic auto sector because it plays into a larger strategy of eventually making Chinese EVs domestically-possibly the first to do so in North America.
That's according to a senior government source who briefed reporters on the plan during the prime minister's flight from Beijing to Doha and was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the decision.
Ford said in a social media statement Friday that the deal runs the risk of flooding the market with cheap, Chinese EVs without guaranteed Canadian investment.
"Worse, by lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, this lopsided deal risks closing the door on Canadian automakers to the American market, our largest export destination, which would hurt our economy and lead to job losses," Ford said.
Unifor President Lana Payne said in a news release that the deal is a "self-inflicted wound" on an already hurting Canadian auto industry. She said experience in the United Kingdom and Brazil shows that once China is allowed into an auto market, its companies quickly seize market share.
Carney described the deal as a trial stage for market entry, adding that Canada wants to be competitive in the auto market of the future.
"We don't want to be competitive in the market of 2000, 2010," he said Sunday. "We want to compete in the future. That's what's going to get great jobs for Ontarians going forward."
Ford continued his criticism of the deal Monday, during a presentation to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) in Toronto. He said his office and Canadian automakers only received word of the deal a few hours before it was announced, the Globe and Mail reports, although he was anticipating it in public statements days before. Last Tuesday, Ford said he was "very concerned" about the possibility that Ottawa would ease the EV tariffs, which he said were needed to protect the auto sector.
"So much for the partnership," Ford said during his ROMA appearance, adding that he'd made his opposition to the deal "very clear" to two senior federal cabinet ministers. "I'm doing so again today, because we need to be doing everything we can to support our auto workers."
But the Ontario premier struck a chummier tone later in the day, the Globe writes. "Yeah, I'm a little ticked off at the PM, but he's coming over, hopefully for a sandwich, maybe a pizza or something," Ford said. "We'll always have the bumps in the road, but at the end of the day we're going to do what's right, for not just Ontario but for Canada."
CTV News talked to two Toronto-area used car dealers who said consumers would benefit from lower-priced vehicles.
"I think having more options will bring the price down in the general market," said Nazar Navolskyy, co-owner of Favorit Motors. "There's (going to) be a huge shift, but I think the consumer will win either way-whether the customer is looking specifically for a Chinese car or willing to explore that option, I think other manufacturers will be forced to react and drop their prices. And anytime anything is becoming cheaper and better for the consumer, the consumer is winning."
Hamza Patel, manager of Planet Motors, agreed that the quota deal will offer consumers more choice. "Brands like BYD, in particular, are already offering competitive range, more features, and newer technology compared to what is currently available in the Canadian market at similar or higher price points," he told CTV.
But Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association-whose entire membership consists of the Big Three automakers-questioned whether Chinese manufacturers would ever build their vehicles in Canada.
"I think it's highly unlikely to happen," he told CTV.
Companies like BYD "achieve a price advantage because they're building those vehicles in China with low or non-existent labour standards and extremely weak environmental standards. That business model doesn't work in Canada," he said. "If you look at General Motors and Stellantis, they have unionized work forces. They pay about $44 an hour plus pensions and benefits. A Chinese manufacturer pays on average about $4 an hour."
The Salary Expert website places the average hourly wage for an autoworker located in China at 49.13, or just under C$10.
The prime minister said any Chinese auto production in Canada would have to meet this country's labour standards, CP writes.
The main body of this report was first published by The Canadian Press on Jan. 18, 2026.
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Source: The Energy Mix
