Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
3mo ago

Report Urges Ottawa to Reward Canadian Auto Production as Toyota, Honda Dominate

The study warns that trade pressures have left a concentrated assembly base, heightening the stakes for pending federal policy.

Honda employees work along the vehicle assembly line in Alliston, Ont., on Thursday, April 25, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette.
As production of autos by the Detroit Three automakers has declined in Canada in recent years, Canadian production by Japanese car markers has stayed consistent over the past decade, according to a new report. 

Overview

  • An Ontario-based Trillium Network report says Japanese automakers have maintained a stable Canadian footprint as the Detroit Three reduced output and jobs over the past decade.
  • Ontario vehicle production fell to about 1.2 million in 2025 from 2.3 million in 2016, while assembly-plant employment dropped to roughly 23,700 in 2024 from 32,700 in 2015.
  • Toyota and Honda produced 77% of vehicles assembled in Canada in 2025 and accounted for about 60% of assembly employment by the end of 2024.
  • U.S.-based automakers restructured operations, including GM ending BrightDrop van production in Ingersoll and cutting a shift in Oshawa, Ford retooling its Oakville plant, and Stellantis pausing Brampton retooling while restoring a third shift in Windsor.
  • The report calls for incentives such as tariff remissions, production credits and consumer rebates tied to Canadian manufacturing, noting the effects of 25% U.S. tariffs, a new Korean auto MOU, a low-tariff quota for 49,000 Chinese EVs, and the forthcoming federal strategy alongside July’s USMCA review.