Carney promises $2B fund to help auto sector withstand U.S. tariffs

WINDSOR, Ont. — Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised Wednesday to help Canada’s auto sector — the same day U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce tariffs on auto imports and a week before Trump is set to trigger another sweeping wave of tariffs.

Speaking at an election stop in Windsor, Ont. on the fourth day of the federal election campaign, Carney said he would create a $2 billion fund for the industry.

He said the fund would protect the jobs of workers affected by the tariffs and “fortify the entire Canadian auto supply chain, from raw materials to finished vehicles.”

The fund also would be aimed at boosting competitiveness in the sector and helping workers improve their skills.

Carney noted the auto sector “supports 125,000 jobs directly, and almost another 500,000 jobs in related industries.”

The Liberals are also promising to build a Canadian network for manufacturing component parts — to build more car parts in Canada and limit the number of times those parts cross the border during automotive production.

Windsor is home to Canada’s auto manufacturing sector, which is extremely integrated with the U.S. industry and very vulnerable to tariffs.

“On average, an auto part crosses that border, often … six times before final assembly and in a trade war, that’s a huge vulnerability,” Carney said.

On April 2, Trump is expected to introduce sweeping new reciprocal tariffs, in addition to previously delayed tariffs on some Canadian and Mexican goods.

On March 5, he agreed to pause for a month 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian auto imports after the major American automakers — Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors — met with him about the plan.

Trump has said repeatedly he wants auto manufacturing to happen in the U.S. and is expected to announce tariffs on auto imports at 4 p.m. today.

Carney also faced questions Wednesday about a Radio-Canada story that said he co-chaired two investment funds registered in Bermuda — a known tax haven — while he worked at Brookfield Asset Management. The two funds were dedicated to the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, Radio-Canada said, and were worth a total of $25 billion.

Carney said the funds are structured to benefit the Canadian pension funds that invest in them and that “the beneficiaries of those pension funds, teachers, retirees, municipal employees, they pay the taxes on their pension.”

Carney said the “flow through of the funds go to Canadian entities who then pay the taxes appropriately, as opposed to taxes being paid multiple times before they get there.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters at a stop in Hamilton that Carney chose to register the funds in Bermuda for “the sole reason of avoiding paying taxes.”

“It makes me wonder, is he going to be working for families … or is he going to continue to favour the companies that he worked for, like Brookfield?” he asked. “Is he going to allow them to get away with skirting paying their fair share?”

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa and David Baxter in Hamilton

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press