According to reports from Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets on June 22nd, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is contemplating plans to impose new tariffs on electric vehicles manufactured in China. This move aims to align Canada’s policies with those of the United States and the European Union. However, the proposal has sparked domestic debate within Canada, with differing opinions emerging regarding the potential economic impacts and strategic considerations of such tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The Canadian government has not yet decided and plans to consult the public next week
Shanghai Observer reports that last week, the European Union announced tariffs on electric cars from China, which will be as high as 48.1 percent on some models. This follows the U.S. announcement in May that it plans to triple tariffs on electric car imports from China to 102.5 percent.
On May 17, just after the U.S. decided to impose the tariffs, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Pengfei Shang, and Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Fengyi Wu, both said on different occasions that Canada was considering whether it needed to raise tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and that it would not be a backdoor into the U.S. for Chinese electric vehicles.
The Canadian government has not yet made a final decision on the plans, but is preparing to announce a public consultation on the tariffs next week, Bloomberg said on the 22nd of this month, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report noted that Trudeau is under increasing pressure both at home and abroad to ensure that Canada’s position remains consistent with that of the United States.
Canadian auto industry groups are calling on the government to impose high tariffs. They say Canada cannot afford not to be on the same page as the United States on this issue, given the upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. The U.S. and Canada have closely integrated automotive supply chains, with a large number of parts and complete vehicles circulating across borders. The vast majority of cars produced in Canada are exported to the United States.

Canada’s Ontario Premier Doug Ford on the 20th in the X platform posting, called on Trudeau to impose the same or higher tariffs on Chinese cars with the United States, and that Canada should strive to deepen and strengthen the “U.S.-Canada supply chain”.
He said imports of Chinese electric vehicles pose a threat to Ontario’s automotive and battery manufacturing industries and that “if we don’t act quickly, jobs in Ontario and Canada are at risk.”
Trudeau responded to the topic on the 20th, saying that he had “quite a few discussions” with G7 leaders on the topic at last week’s G7 summit.
“We’re paying close attention to the steps that the United States and other allies have already taken,” Trudeau said, “and I can assure you that we will continue to protect Canadian workers and Canadian industry.”
A spokesman for Canadian Finance Minister Francois Freeland said Canada was actively considering its next steps to deal with “China’s oversupply,” but did not say whether it was prepared to impose tariffs. This deliberation underscores Canada’s cautious approach in aligning its economic policies with those of its international allies while managing internal discussions and considerations regarding trade relations with China.
Expert: Cold temperatures in much of Canada don’t make for a well-developed electric vehicle market
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of China’s National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association, said that Canada’s geographic location leads to cold temperatures in most of its regions, and that the country’s domestic EV market itself is not well developed, according to Shanghai First Financial News. Canada’s move sends out more of a political signal and has little impact on China’s electric vehicle exports.
Statistics Canada data show that imports of Chinese electric cars into Canada last year totaled C$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion).
The number of cars arriving at the Port of Vancouver from China reached 44,400 in 2023 after Tesla Inc. began shipping Model Y cars from China to the port, according to the Canadian data.
As in the U.S., electric vehicles remain a relatively small share of the Canadian auto market. Last year, Canadians registered about 185,000 battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, up nearly 50 percent from the year before, but still only 11 percent of total new vehicle registrations. Subsidies for buyers are designed to increase that rate. The Trudeau government’s goal is that 60 percent of all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada should be zero-emission by 2030, and 100 percent by 2035.