Honda is pushing back against a report that the carmaker is considering moving some vehicle production from plants in Canada to the U.S., which could shutter a massive plant in Ontario’s Simcoe County.
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday that the move is part of push to have 90 per cent of Honda of cars sold in the U.S. to be made locally in response to new 25 per cent auto tariffs.
Honda’s facility in Aliston, Ont., currently employs over 4,200 people. But the automaker committed last year to expand and add two new plants that will produce up to 240,000 vehicles per year and create more than 1,000 “well-paying manufacturing jobs” once fully operational in 2028.
Honda also announced that it would add two new plants elsewhere in Ontario. And as iPolitics first reported last spring, one of those new facilities will be located in the Niagara Region.
But Honda Canada on Tuesday said it’s not planning to move out of Alliston.
“[W]e can confirm that our Canadian manufacturing facility in Alliston, Ontario, will operate at full capacity for the foreseeable future and no changes are being considered at this time. We constantly study options for future contingency planning and utilize short-term production shift strategies when required, to mitigate negative impacts on our business,” the company said in a statement.
AS FIRST REPORTED: Honda to announce new plant in Niagara Region: sources
Reuters had previously reported that Honda plans to make its next-generation Civic hybrid in the U.S. state of Indiana, instead of Mexico, to avoid potential tariffs from the Trump administration.
The outlet says the U.S. was Honda’s biggest market last year, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of global sales, and the automaker sold 1.4 million vehicles, including Acura models, in the U.S. last year. It imported about two-fifths of those cars from Canada or Mexico.
The possible move of production has unnerved local leaders and residents in Simcoe County, and raised some questions about comments from a Barrie-area Liberal candidate.
John Olthuis, who’s running in Barrie South—Innisfil, posted on social media earlier this year that he thinks that Canada should potentially “give up on manufacturing,” and let that work be taken on by countries like China and India.
Doug Shipley, the incumbent Conservative candidate in neighbouring Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, called Olthuis’ comments “offensive, disgusting and insulting.”
“As a local businessman for over… 30 years, who’s always fought for Canadian manufacturing, fought for Canadian jobs and fought for Canadians, I find this just absolutely offensive. [It] is absolutely insulting to the families of Barrie… to [those] who are are employed at Honda manufacturing trying to feed their families,” he said.
“I don’t give up on any Canadian ever. We need to fight for Canadians. We need to fight for Canadian jobs and fight for Canadian manufacturing.”
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall also condemned the comments as “disrespectful and unpatriotic,” and that “they ignore the grit and commitment of the hardworking people of Barrie and across the country.”
“At a time when global supply chains are under constant pressure, we should be doing everything we can to invest in reliable, domestic production — not less. If we want a partner in manufacturing, it shouldn’t be China or India — it should be right here at home, in cities like Barrie,” he said.
“Manufacturing built this community, and it remains a cornerstone of our local economy. We will never stop fighting to protect these jobs, attract new investment, and secure a strong economic future for the people of Barrie.”
When reached, Olthuis told iPolitics in a statement that his comments “were regrettable and should have never been made.”
“I apologize and it won’t happen again,” he said.
“In the face of Trump tariffs, I will always stand up for our auto sector and our workers.”
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was asked about the Nikkei report on Tuesday, and said he had spoken to automakers that would be impacted by the Trump administration’s tariffs.
“[T]he North American automobile sector is the most integrated industrial manufacturing sector in the world, particularly the Canadian-U.S. auto sector. And so President Trump’s tariffs are an attempt in some some degree, to pull apart that integration, and the benefits that come from that integration — benefits to United States, benefits to Mexico, and we are seeing some of the impacts in the short term of that, with layoffs for some of our automakers,” he said.
“Our focus is on jobs and growth here in Canada. I have had a number of conversations with the CEOs of automakers, not just the CEOs in Canada, but the global CEOs of the automakers, as have my colleagues [and] other ministers. So, we are very seized with the issues.”
Carney added that this tariff threat is why his government is rolling out new financing and liquidity supports for local producers and the Liberals are committing to a $2 billion strategic fund t “build out [the] Canadian supply chain.”
“The core element, though, is going to be what is negotiated between Canada and the United States, between the prime minister of Canada and the president of the United States. When those negotiations begin in two weeks, then the core question is, who’s going to be at the table for Canada? I’m running hard so that I can be at the table for Canada to win for Canadian workers.”
This story has been updated with comments from John Olthius.
