Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Trudeau government to implement a suite of tariffs on several Chinese exports, including steel, aluminum, electric vehicles, and critical minerals.
The opposition leader is voicing the concerns of many industry leaders that the time has come for Canada to realign with its allies economically.
Poilievre spoke in front of Stelco steel workers in Hamilton, Ont. on Friday, where he accused China of producing “artificially cheap steel, aluminum and EVs.”
He said that the country’s “massively subsidized steel” is made possible by “exploiting weak environmental and labour standards.”
“They’re doing this with the goal of crushing our steel, our aluminum, and our automotive production, and taking our jobs away,” said Polievere.
He called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to impose a similar suite of tariffs akin to the ones introduced by the United States.
Poilievre’s proposal would require Canada to introduce a 100% tariff on made-in-China EVs, a 50% tariff on semiconductors and solar cells and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products.
Tariffs would also be placed on other critical minerals and EV batteries as well.
Additionally, he called on the government to block any rebates for Chinese EVs.
“Trudeau has failed to protect our workers,” said Poilievre.
Steel and aluminum industry leaders have previously called for Ottawa to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.
The U.S. and Mexico have already implemented trade tariffs against China and industry leaders in Canada worry that Canada will soon become China’s main target for exports if government action is taken on home soil.
There is also the issue of Canada upholding its trade pact as a member of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
“In an ideal world, you would walk in lockstep… So that we don’t open up a hole in the CUSMA fortress that will enable Chinese imports to come in,” said Jean Simard, CEO of the Aluminium Association of Canada during a press conference on Parliament Hill.
“We think that the period of the coming weeks is crucial for Canada to take a stand on this.”
The Trudeau government has yet to provide any details on how it would prevent an excess supply of Chinese goods flooding the domestic market, however, it did launch a 30-day consultation period on the issue last month.
“Failure to act risks good jobs in steel and aluminum communities right across this country,” said Catherine Cobden, president of the Canadian Steel Producers Association.
“We think it’s imperative that the government meet the moment and keep our CUSMA partnership whole, as well as protect our domestic steel and aluminum industries by taking an aligned approach.”
A spokesperson for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office called Poilievre’s proposal “incredibly rich,” accusing the opposition leader of coming to the defence of Canadian auto workers “months late.”
“The Deputy Prime Minister has been clear that action is necessary – such as a surtax under Section 53 of the Customs Tariff – to counter China’s intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity,” said Freeland’s deputy communications director Katherine Cuplinskas.
Poilievre said that if Canada doesn’t impose its own tariff system then Chinese goods could come into Canada before ultimately winding up heading south of the border to circumvent the newly imposed U.S. tariffs.
“Justin Trudeau has failed to protect Canadian steel, aluminum, mining and auto workers, even allowing the tens of billions of dollars of investments he’s made into EV battery plants to be spent on foreign replacement workers instead of jobs for Canadian workers. He allowed this to happen even as unemployment increased throughout the summer,” said the Conservative Party in a press release.
“Trudeau has refused to follow in the United States’ footsteps by matching their tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. The United States first introduced tariffs to counteract this six years ago, and as a result, made-in-China EVs have largely been kept off American roads. Meanwhile, Trudeau did basically nothing, and Canadian workers are paying the price. Worse still, Liberals are even offering rebates for Chinese EVs. This means that Canada is literally subsidizing the CCP’s attempt to destroy Canada’s auto industry.”
