Mayor Paul Lefebvre has expressed support for Premier Doug Ford’s call to retain Canada’s tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
“This decision protects Canadian workers and ensures that new investments across Ontario, including here in Northern Ontario, continue to deliver long-term value,” Lefebvre said in a media release issued this week.
In the release, Lefebvre noted that Greater Sudbury “stands at the heart of Canada’s emerging electric vehicle supply chain.”
“Our community is home to the people, companies, and resources that make this national strategy possible, from critical minerals and mining innovation to advanced battery research and processing,” Lefebvre said.
“That is why I support Premier Ford’s position to maintain Canada’s tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.”
Lefebvre wrote that the city has a “generational opportunity” to build a domestic electric vehicle ecosystem that processes more minerals close to home.
“Allowing heavily subsidized Chinese EVs into the market would vastly undermine that opportunity and the billions of dollars already invested to grow our clean economy,” Lefebvre said.
“From our world-class mining sector to emerging processing capacity for nickel, copper, and other critical minerals, we are helping build the foundation of Canada’s EV future,” he said.
“Unlocking the mining potential of Northern Ontario and the world class processing powerhouse that exists in Greater Sudbury depends on confidence that Canada is committed to protecting its industrial base.”
In September, Ford sent an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney urging him to retain a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles which has been in place since October 2024.
“The tariff has been key to protecting more than $46 billion in automotive, EV and battery supply chain investments through joint efforts between the Ontario and federal governments since 2020,” he wrote, describing the tariff as “critical to protecting more than 157,000 direct jobs in Ontario and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs across the country.”