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鈥淎utos are our number two export in this country. It is a sector that supports 125,000 jobs directly, and almost another 500,000 jobs in related industries, many of them good union jobs,鈥� Carney said.

He said the auto sector has broader benefits in communities like Windsor and Oshawa and is an integral part of the country’s economy.听听

“Canadian auto workers don’t just build vehicles, they build Canada and our auto sector has always been there for our country.”

According to a report from the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, a think tank, Canadian plants produced 1.3 million vehicles in 2024, down from a peak of nearly three million in the 1990s. Statistics Canada figures show about 1.9 million vehicles sales in this country that year.

Carney did not provide specifics on what the proposed fund would invest in, but said it would allow more vehicles to be assembled in Canada from parts made in Canada. He also pledged that the Government of Canada would buy Canadian-made vehicles in its purchases.听

鈥淚t will fortify the entire Canadian auto supply chain, from raw materials to finished vehicles, because we’re not just protecting the present, we’re looking to build the future,鈥� Carney said. 鈥滻n this new world that will be an advantage that will help insulate us from President Trump’s trade threats and it will grow the economy right here in Windsor.鈥�

Flavio Volpe, president of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufactures’ Association, said the proposal is a good way to find a Plan B for the auto industry if Trump moves ahead with sweeping tariffs.

鈥淚f the world falls apart and we have an end to the order that we have relied on to date, we should be looking at how to save the prospects for Canadian interests rather than fold and let it die,鈥� he said.

Today’s auto industry is highly integrated with vehicles and parts often making multiple trips across the border before being integrated during a final assembly. Since the 1960s, trade agreements have made it possible for auto companies to work with parts makers in both countries with few trade irritants.听

As he has long threatened, on Wednesday Trump announced new 25 per cent tariffs on cars and light trucks made outside the U.S., which he said would go into force on April 2. The newly announced tariffs have the potential to cause major issues at factories and to break supply chains.听

Volpe said the industry is designed with an open border in mind, because that has been the case for so long.听

“The reason everything crosses the border so many times is because it’s actually the most efficient business model right now and in our business, we haven’t looked at a border in 60 years.”

Volpe said Korean and Japanese automakers build vehicles in countries in line with what they sell. He said if Canada goes that route it could make that work and this new fund would help manufacturers realign supply chains and make other changes to make that possible.听

“If they go ahead and wreck the current industry dynamic, there is substantial demand for automotive products in Canada made by the current assemblers and we should have a very healthy conversation about whether it鈥檚 possible to build where you sell, and to minimize your tariff exposure where possible,” he said. “We have a fighting chance if we get forced into that scenario, so I think it’s time for that we think outside the box.”