Ontario Premier Doug Ford isn’t mincing words about Canada’s new electric vehicle deal with China, saying Friday that Chinese manufacturers are gaining a foothold in the country’s auto market at the expense of workers in this country.
“The federal government is inviting a flood of cheap made-in-China electric vehicles without any real guarantee of equal or immediate investments in Canada’s economy, auto sector or supply chain,” Ford said in a statement issued shortly after news of the deal broke.
“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.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, in a move that marks a major shift in the relationship between the two countries.
Ontario’s economy is heavily reliant on their auto industry that’s pretty tightly coupled to the US. I get why Ford needs to make statements like this. There’s a huge risk of disruption letting Chinese EVs into Canada.
On the flip side, coupling our industry to a burgeoning fascist state that has shown little interest in respecting treaties, trade agreements, and Canada is a stupider and stupider arrangement as every day passes.
So, great, Doug, you’re speaking up for your constituents. It’s just that decades of ghoulish decisions have put Ontario in that position, and something has to give. Being at the whim of Detroit corporations is no way forward.
Imagine what could have been had Doug and the gang not canceled all the green projects and diversified our economy. But yay! we’re gonna get tunnels under cars to drive more cars so,we can make more cars to get to work to make more cars.
So instead, we choose to buy from an established dictatorship?
An established dictatorship that you can actually make a deal with and expect it to be respected, and that isn’t currently threatening to annex us with military force.
Better two assholes we can play off of each other than just one. Mongolia has made it work, somehow.
And of course as much trade and ties with Europe as possible.