Canada's two prime ministers are calling on the federal government to raise tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles in hopes it could lead to Beijing eliminating its own tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Canadian canola.
“Take advantage of the opportunity presented by recent remarks from the Chinese Ambassador to Canada,” Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“He indicated that China “is willing to raise tariffs on Canadian canola and pork if Canada ends its 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.”
Kinew was referring to remarks made by Ambassador Van Di through an interpreter in an interview that aired Sunday on CTV.
Canada has imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles starting October 2024. This tariff was introduced at the same time as the United States, arguing that the move was aimed at protecting the country's auto industry.
In August, China imposed a nearly 76 percent tariff on Canadian canola seed following an anti-dumping investigation into the country's canola crop.
Both canola farmers and Ottawa have rejected the dumping allegations, arguing that exporters followed trade rules.
Since the tariffs were introduced, Prairie premiers have called for constructive negotiations with China and lower tariffs on electric vehicles.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who has previously said eliminating tariffs on electric vehicles would not be an easy solution, traveled to China in September for meetings with Beijing officials.
In a statement last week, his office said both countries should continue to negotiate with each other.
Moe wrote on X on Sunday that Wang's comments are a “clear signal” about how the federal government “can act this week” when Foreign Minister Anita Anand visits China.
“It’s time for Ottawa to make this deal on behalf of 200,000 Canadian workers,” he wrote.
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Anand begins his Asia trip on Monday in Delhi and is expected to comment on Tuesday.
Moe's remarks come after new Statistics Canada data last week showed the province exported $96 million worth of goods to China in August, down 76 per cent from the same month last year.
About 60 percent of the province's exports to China are agricultural products and food, and data shows they have been declining since June.
While Kinew, Moe and Alberta Premier Daniel Smith have called for his resignation, other federal and provincial politicians have taken the opposite position.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a letter to Carney last month that tariffs are “critical to protecting” jobs in the province.
“At a time when our auto sector is under enormous financial pressure due to President Trump's tariffs, Canada's tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles is critical to protecting more than 157,000 direct jobs in Ontario and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs across the country,” Ford wrote in the letter.
International trade lawyer Mark Warner told Global News that Ford's position is not surprising since Canada has not opened its markets to Chinese electric vehicles.
“We're asking farmers to be highly critical of things that aren't actually being produced in Canada yet,” Warner said.
He added that differences among politicians over how to resolve the trade dispute could be beneficial for Beijing.
“Clearly China knows which sectors to squeeze in order to lift Canadian policymakers,” he said.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also has a strong stance on tariffs.
“China wants these electric cars to do surveillance on our streets,” Poilievre said.
Despite calls from Prairie premiers, the federal government has given no indication that it might be the first to abdicate its responsibilities.
In mid-September, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne's office told The Canadian Press that a review of the decision to impose tariffs on electric vehicles was currently underway, but did not say when the review would begin or end.
“We have begun more intensive engagement with China regarding primarily canola and other agricultural products,” Carney said in early September. “It’s too early to draw any conclusions.”
Carney met with his counterpart Li Qiang during a visit to the United Nations last month, and a report from the Prime Minister's Office said the two leaders discussed canola and electric cars.
—with files from Jillian Piper of Global News and The Canadian Press
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