Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is on a four-day visit to China this week, meeting individually with four automakers — BYD, Chery, Geely, and Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology (a subsidiary of SAIC) — to seek investment in building factories in Canada. Joly told the media the goal is to have Canadian auto parts giants that already have a presence in China — such as Magna, Linamar, and Martinrea — form joint ventures with Chinese automakers, “producing Canada-China joint vehicles and exporting them globally,” while protecting Canada’s 500,000 auto industry workers. Any cooperation must meet four prerequisites: the joint venture must be Canadian-controlled, comply with Canadian labor standards, use Canadian-made components, and ensure that in-vehicle software safeguards user data.
Joly’s trip comes on the heels of a controversial exchange agreement reached in January between the Carney government and China: Canada lowered import tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles from 100% to 6.1%, with a first-year quota of 49,000 vehicles (rising to 70,000 over five years), while China reduced its tariff on Canadian canola oil to roughly 15%. The deal has drawn sharp criticism: Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it “Huawei 2.0”; U.S. Trade Representative Greer said the decision was “problematic”; and former Secretary of State Pompeo denounced it as a “major strategic and moral error.” Current Finance Minister Champagne publicly stated in 2024 that Canada would “never” become a back door for Chinese EVs into North America — a stance now at odds with the policy reversal. Joly’s visit represents the Carney government’s latest bid to attract Chinese auto investment as U.S. tariff pressures intensify, and it is a critical test of whether tariff concessions to China will actually translate into factory construction in Canada.