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NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s plan to help the auto sector during the U.S. trade war includes killing the GST on Canadian-made cars and making it illegal to move equipment from Canadian plants to the U.S.
During a campaign stop Thursday in Windsor, Singh also said an NDP government would boost employment insurance, ensure the federal government only buys Canadian-made vehicles, and ban companies with no footprint in Canada from selling here.
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“To describe what has happened when Donald Trump stabbed us in the back, it’s a betrayal,” said Singh, who grew up in Windsor. “Canadians are angry, but people in Windsor are pissed off. This feels like a betrayal, a gut punch for absolutely no reason.”
Singh said he changed his campaign schedule to stop in Windsor, Canada’s automotive capital, after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war Wednesday.
Starting April 3, Trump said the U.S. will impose a 25 tariff on all finished vehicle imports.
“We had to be in the automotive capital of our country to talk to workers about the devastating impact of this,” Singh told reporters. “To put it in perspective, there are hundreds and thousands of jobs at stake. And in Windsor and Essex County and the surrounding region, there are a lot of workers who are now wondering what’s going to happen.”
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NDP candidates Shinade Allder from London West and Windsor West’s Brian Masse joined Singh on his Windsor tour.
Singh met with union leaders at the Unifor Local 200 and 444 headquarters on Turner Road before heading to Windsor Assembly plant to greet workers during a shift change.
While many Windsor Assembly Plant workers shook his hand and seemed happy to see him, Singh also heard jeers from some autoworkers, including a handful repeatedly shouting “Trump, Trump,” and stating their support for the U.S. president.
Singh told reporters that if auto companies decide to move all operations to the U.S. because of the tariffs, an NDP government would ensure they do it without the equipment in their Canadian factories.
“We invested in this equipment in our country, we invested massively in the automotive sector,” he said. “I don’t want anyone in the automotive sector in the States to think that they can now just strip these factories of that equipment. We’re going to use every tool possible to make it illegal to take this equipment out of our country.”
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Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo, one of several union leaders to meet with Singh, said that even without a federal mandate, that equipment isn’t going anywhere.
“We wouldn’t allow the machines to leave,” he said. “We’re a union. We created these jobs. Talk about quality and productivity. Talk about the 100 years we’ve been here. We’re pissed, and not for a minute are we going to allow this to happen.”
Singh also pledged that the NDP would only buy Canadian-made vehicles for federal fleets such RCMP and Canada Post, and “incentivize” citizens to buy Canadian-made cars by waiving the GST.
He also promised to ban any company that pulls up its Canadian stakes from selling their products here.
“While these tariffs are in place, no companies should think they can sell here in Canada if they don’t have a footprint here in Canada,” he said. “If they get rid of their footprint, if they’re not creating jobs here, they’re not selling in our country.”
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