TORONTO — Evan Pivnick, associate director of public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to today’s steel, auto, and critical mineral action plan:
“The announcement today started with a clear signal: the world is shifting to electric vehicles, and Canada can become a global leader in their production. To do so, it will need to make meaningful investments into key resource and manufacturing supply chains. Today’s action plan has some good ingredients and an unfortunate one.
“Prime Minister Carney put a major focus on ensuring that Ontario’s industrial base is not just supported through tariff attacks from the U.S., but with investments in key sectors—including steel, mining, and auto manufacturing—to help them meet the needs of diverse global trading partners and compete in a world that is electrifying.
“Ontario’s steel and mining industries will have a vital role to play in positioning Canada as a clean energy superpower. They represent opportunities to both attract investments and manufacturing into Canada for companies looking at integrating their supply chains, as well as representing important export sectors in their own right. Building on today’s announcement, positioning these sectors to be competitive globally will mean diversifying what our steel mills produce to support the doubling of our electricity grid and ensuring the build-out of critical minerals includes expanding midstream refining capacity in Ontario and across Canada.
“For Ontario’s auto industry, the prime minister pointed to the fact that EVs are expected to represent 40% of global sales within five years and that Canadian workers should be the ones to make these vehicles, offering $2.5 billion from the federal and Ontario governments to invest in modern machinery and upgraded production lines. It will be essential that even as we make investments into our auto manufacturing, we continue to pursue opportunities to attract foreign, non-U.S. investment into our auto sector, including from Europe and Asia.
“However, while today’s announcement advances Canada’s potential to expand trade with a world that is electrifying, it also represents a major step backwards when it comes to ensuring Canadians enjoy preferred access to cost-saving EVs. We appreciate the government reiterated its 2035 target for Canada’s vehicle pollution standards that, as stated in February’s auto strategy, aims to achieve 75% EV sales by that date. But the decision to pause any increase in the regulation until model year 2030 puts significantly more pressure on the policy’s later years and could undermine success down the road.
“When the auto strategy was announced in February, the government committed to bringing in a new vehicle pollution standard at the same time as the repeal of the EV Availability Standard. The unexpected delay will impact the potential benefits of stronger EV uptake, including thousands in fuel cost savings for households and up to $21 billion in charging industry investments. At the same time, Canadian communities will face the increased health costs and impacts from worse air quality.
“This will put even more pressure on the other levers the government has to support EV adoption to ensure Canadian car buyers aren’t left out of the global switch to EVs: for example, through the adoption of EU vehicle safety standards to attract more EVs into Canada and through strategic investments in the EV charging network.
“As mentioned by Premier Ford, no matter what happens in the midterms in the U.S., Canadian trade will not go back to the way it was. Diversifying our exports and positioning Canada as a stable and secure trading partner for our allies means acknowledging that electrification is accelerating globally. Canada needs investments like today’s to ensure security, competitiveness and prosperity for our industries and workers.”
