Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attacked a pledge by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles by 100 per cent, but Trudeau did not answer when asked why his government hasn’t moved sooner on introducing a surtax.
“It’s a bit of a joke that Poilievre is suddenly talking about workers in the industry,” Trudeau said at a funding announcement for the EV industry in eastern Ontario Monday.
“For (Poilievre) to suddenly turn around and say, ‘Oh, we’re worried about EVs,’ that’s baloney. He’s looking for a political angle. Because that’s all he does,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau also said if Poilievre is elected, he would cut investments in Canada’s EV industry, a sector that continues to receive massive government subsidies.
“He’d be cutting our investments in EVs, in building an extraordinary EV supply chain in Canada, something we’ve been doing as a government,” said the prime minister.
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The Liberal government is weighing whether to match U.S. tariffs on Chinese EVs, saying a decision is coming “soon” and that “it’s clear action is necessary – such as a surtax.”
The Biden administration increased tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25 to 100 per cent last May. The Ontario government and Canadian automotive industry urged Ottawa to follow suit. The Department of Finance wrapped a 30-day consultation process earlier this month.
Poilievre called for a 100 per cent tariff hike last week, along with higher levies on Chinese steel and aluminum. He also accused Trudeau of “doing nothing” to protect Canadian workers from an increasingly aggressive China.
“They’re doing this with the goal of crushing our steel, our aluminum, and our automotive production and taking our jobs away. Trudeau has failed to protect our workers against this economic predation,” the Conservative leader said at a steel plant in Hamilton.
Trudeau said he has been working “for many months” to ensure “Canada’s EV advantage remains” and criticized Poilievre’s EV strategy.
“Poilievre jumping in front of the parade – or trying to – is just silly,” he said.
The prime minister made the remarks at a funding announcement in Napanee, Ont., where Goodyear Canada, Ottawa and Ontario pledged more than half a billion dollars to modernize a plant producing EV tires.
A report last June from the parliamentary budget officer (PBO) estimates that the federal and provincial governments have pumped as much as $52.5 billion into the sector.
Last March, Canada reached a deal with Volkswagen to hand out $13.2 billion in subsidies for batteries produced at a future plant in St. Thomas, Ont.
Stellantis later asked for a similar deal for a plant it’s building in Windsor, Ont., and ultimately landed a $15-billion agreement.
The PBO says it could take Ottawa and Ontario until 2043 to break even on the two battery deals.
The subsidies for both plants are meant to mirror incentives offered by the U.S. through the Inflation Reduction Act, a 2022 law passed that makes significant investments in the green economy.
— with files from The Canadian Press