Union representing Ontario auto workers preparing for ‘economic war’ with U.S. over auto tariffs

A union representing more than 20,000 autoworkers – mostly at assembly plants in Oshawa, Oakville and Windsor – is ready for a fight with U.S. President Donald Trump over his threatened 25 per cent tariffs on the auto sector.

Unifor President Lana Payne said Trump “fails to understand the chaos and damage” the tariffs will inflict on workers and consumers in both Canada and the United States, calling his threats an “unjust assault.”

“Donald Trump has convinced himself that, somehow, the jobs of Canadian autoworkers are his to claim,”  said Payne, who attended an emergency meeting with auto workers in Oshawa this week. “We have built cars here for over a century, long before the U.S. was our primary trade partner. I will state this as clearly and unequivocally as I can. These are not his jobs to take.”

Trump has included Canada in the auto tariffs, despite having the most highly integrated and tightly woven supply chain between any two countries in the world and a trade relationship that Payne describes as in “near-perfect balance.”

The new auto tariff is scheduled to take effect on April 2, the same date that Trump will announce as yet unspecified reciprocal tariffs against U.S. international trade partners. According to reports, auto tariffs will be applied to the value of all non-U.S. content in finished vehicles, a move that Payne said “entirely violates” the terms of a trade pact negotiated by Trump during his first term as president as well as automotive-specific side letters to the deal.

Earlier this month, the U.S. implemented a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imported to the United States. An additional 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent tariff on energy and potash imported to the U.S. is currently on pause and Trump has also threatened future tariffs on lumber, pharmaceuticals, microchips, copper and other goods.

“It’s attack followed by attack followed by attack,” said Payne, who called it “economic war” with a trading partner. “We cannot expect our trade relationship with the U.S. to ever go back to the way it was so we must forge a new economy that creates and supports Canadian jobs.”

Local 222, which represents more than 3,000 auto workers at the GM assembly plant in Oshawa, held emergency meetings this week – with the prevailing theme of “Elbows Up, Gloves Off” – and is planning a rally outside the south Oshawa plant.

“Elbows up, gloves off” – Unifor President Lana Payne met with auto workers at an emergency meeting in Oshawa this week