Windsor/CMEDIA: An auto plan reportedly aiming to secure tariff-free access to the US market was announced today by the Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at the heart of Canada’s auto sector on Sunday to increase Canadian auto production.
During a news conference held in Windsor on Sunday, Poilievre said the Conservative plan to restore Canada’s auto production to two million cars per year over the next 10 years will be done through a new tariff-free auto pact.
While removing the GST from Canadian-made vehicles, a new tariff-free auto pact would mean that for each car produced in Canada, the same manufacturer would be able to sell a US or Mexico-made car in Canada duty-free.
“Mark Carney is presenting a fantasy and dangerous illusion that we can replace auto sales to the U.S. with EVs overseas..Conservatives will bring back good-paying auto jobs, grow production and make Canada a place where we can build the future of our auto sector through tariff-free trade with the US,” said Poilievre. “
In 2016, Canada built 2.3 million vehicles, compared to 1.2 million in 2025
Blaming Prime Minister Carney, Poilievre said things have gotten worse over the last year with a 33 percent decrease in Canadian output compared to a production increase abroad in Mexico and slight decrease in the US.
Pointing to the loss of jobs across the auto sector in recent months, including GM CAMI in Ingersoll, GM in Oshawa, and Stellantis in Brampton, Poilievre said the issue is not due to weak demand of Canadians’ purchase of 1.9 million new cars in 2025, but with Canada having built only 1.2 million vehicles, meaning Canada has to rely on foreign vehicle imports.
With the threat of tariffs, Conservative plan announced by Poilievre would help Canada’s lagging auto sector, including:
- Removing the GST on all Canadian-made vehicles
- Implementing a rule where for every car produced in Canada, the same manufacturer would get to sell a car in Canada, duty-free, from a CUSMA partner, on a dollar-for-dollar basis
- Maintaining the minimum 75 per cent North American content and existing CUSMA rules of origin
Creating a harmonized North American cybersecurity and data standard, while banning vehicles using Chinese or Russian-connected software - Aligning with North American partners on Chinese tariffs if they accept this plan, for maximum leverage in CUSMA renegotiations
- Unveiling the party’s most substantial auto strategy to date under his leadership, Poilievre says it will both bring back production to Canada and be “highly attractive” to partners south of the border.
“The goal is clear: we want to double our production to two million vehicles,” Poilievre said speaking in Windsor, Ont., on Sunday, saying he’d like to institute a tariff-free auto pact.
The pitch comes amid Poilievre’s first visit to the US since U.S. President Donald Trump launched his trade war.
CallIng to remove the GST on all Canadian-made vehicles, the plan was part of the Conservatives’ campaign promises in the 2025 general election.
It also looks to align Canada with the U.S. on Chinese tariffs, part of Poilievre’s strategy to boost Canada’s leverage in the upcoming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on trade.
A 1-for-1 car deal
When asked how he’d get Trump to agree, Poilievre says his plan would see a “massive production gain” on both sides of the border, while addressing the US president’s desire to repatriate production to the US.
“The plan that we’re putting forward allows both the United States and Canada to massively increase their production by incentivizing auto makers to match a car made with a car sold,” he said.
Pitching a one-for-one deal, where for every car manufactured in Canada, Poilievre said, that same producer would get to sell a car duty-free from a CUSMA partner.
Following meetings with senior executives of General Motors and Ford in Detroit, Poilievre crossed the Detroit River back into Canada to make the announcement.
Ahead of meetings in Michigan late last week , Poilievre touted the plan as “literally the only hope of keeping our auto sector in Canada,” but at the time said he hadn’t shared it with Carney.
