It was perhaps the most astonishing Canadian automotive announcement of the last 10 years: General Motors’ Oshawa assembly plant, shuttered since last December, is being re-opened. And not just some kind of token keep-Unifor-out-of-our-hair-for-the-next-four-years symbolic reshuffling of some soon-to-be-discontinued sedan that nobody wants.
No siree, Bob! Perilously close to death — it was scheduled to become a parts-stamping facility and autonomous vehicle testing ground — Oshawa has been granted the nearest thing the North American auto industry has to a fountain of youth; it will produce pickups. Indeed, it will hold the exalted status of being the only GM plant in the world to produce both light- and heavy-duty trucks. Forget astonishing, this is the paradigm shift that may save Oshawa’s 111-year history of auto manufacturing.
Credit where credit is due, outgoing Unifor president Jerry Dias really pulled one out of thin air. Oh, sure, Ford’s Oakville plant deal and the pact with FCA to keep Windsor alive were coups. But those contracts merely saved jobs (and maybe not all of them) that already existed. Oshawa’s reopening actually brought jobs back to Canada. There were barely 300 Unifor members prowling the cavernous 10-million-square-foot facility — talk about echoes — and despite the fact the closure was officially dubbed a “pause” back in May 2019, few had any expectations those jobs would ever return. Instead, depending on who was talking, anywhere between 1,400 and 1,700 jobs could be revived by the end of 2022, God and cheap gas willing.
More than a few pundits have credited Dias’ recent success — the contracts he signed with the Detroit 3 represent investments of $4.7-billion in Canadian automotive production — to his close relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And while it’s true our fearful leader has insinuated himself fairly dramatically in recent automotive dealings, I’d posit it was GM’s relationship with another, far more important, politician that was key to getting the deal signed.
That would be the President of the United States, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say GM CEO Mary Barra probably made a calculated bet that Donald Trump wasn’t going to get a second term before approving the shift in pickup production to Oshawa. In fact, I’ll go even farther: I’m not sure this deal would have been signed if Barra had thought Trump would be around to haunt her for the next four years.
The calculus is quite simple. For one thing, unlike Ford and FCA’s recent deals, The Donald probably would have made a big stink about GM producing pickups in Canada. He could give a damn if Ford produces “globalist” electric vehicles in Oakville or FCA makes electrified minivans in Windsor. His loyal supporters don’t buy ’em, don’t care about ’em and sure as shootin’ aren’t calling him out on Fox News for letting production of “elitist” EVs head north of the 49th. Hell, if The Donald had his way, there’d probably be no electric vehicles sold in America, so shifting production of a few plug-ins to Canada wouldn’t even rate a half-hearted riposte at a campaign stop in lonely Elko, Nevada.
But building trucks anywhere other than in the good ole US of A, well, that would be a freaking tweetfest. The “base” — that loyal 40 per cent or so of America that would vote Republican even if Trump shot somebody “in the middle of 5th Avenue” — well, they buy pickups, don’t they? And if you’ve ever read the comment section of Breitbart.com, you’d know we Canadians often fare no better in the “godless socialists” sweepstakes than any of the usual suspects.
Barra has already been under this microscope. Earlier this year, Trump got on her case, claiming GM was demanding “top dollar” for then-much-needed ventilators (never mind the company was producing them at cost), singling out Barra specifically with an “always a mess with Mary B” tweet. Before that, the closing of the Lordstown, Ohio plant that raised his ire, his tweets imploring GM to “close a plant in China or Mexico” while threatening in a subsequent tweet “you better get back there soon.”
I’ll say that again: A U.S. president urged his fellow Americans to stop shopping Harley-Davidson … simply to seek revenge for an impasse he himself created.
And that was just a half-Trump. He didn’t really have his heart in it. If you want to see Trump at his most manically destructive, look what he did to Harley-Davidson. In 2018, in response to the EU raising taxes on motorcycles built in the U.S. by some 25 per cent, Milwaukee announced it was shifting some of its production to Thailand. Now, never mind that the European Union’s move was a response to Trump’s own decision to impose duties on steel and aluminum imported from Europe, or that it would cost Harley, by its own estimation, some US$2,200 more to export a motorcycle from York, Pa., or Kansas City — HD’s then two main plants in the States — because of these retaliatory restrictions.
Trump went on the warpath nonetheless, starting with messages bullying HD’s management, and eventually calling on his supporters — many long-time one-percenters — to boycott Harley-Davidson. I’ll say that again: A U.S. president urged his fellow Americans to stop shopping Harley-Davidson — perhaps the most recognized American institution in the world — simply to seek revenge for an impasse he himself created.
And it worked. There are lots of reasons why Harley has been in the dumps lately (misguided action plans, poor execution of its new entry-level models, etc.) but having the Leader of the Free World — again, who’s loyalty is so absolute that he could shoot someone and they’d still follow him up Hamburger Hill — call for a boycott of your product is not a good thing. Harley still hasn’t recovered, the recriminations starting a downward spiral that has yet to stabilize despite the fact the rest of America’s motorcycle market has rebounded quite dramatically post-pandemic.
So, was Barra prescient in her reading of the political tea leaves? Did GM Canada’s recent rebirth really hinge on The Donald’s election collapse? I don’t know. But would Barra have risked the wrath of Trump if the polls had given him a Biden-like lead going into Nov. 3 election? Would anyone willingly walk into that kind of abuse? Those thinking it wasn’t a significant part of GM’s calculations before the deal was signed are fooling themselves — Jerry Dias’ genius notwithstanding, of course.
LISTEN: Electrifying Canada’s extensive truck and bus fleets
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
