Canadian autoworkers say they face uncertainty and fear as Trump's car tariffs shake the industry

• Trump may have calmed his global trade war, but his tariff offensive is still hitting Canada hard.
• Canadian autoworkers told BI they are grappling with layoff fears and cutting back on spending.
• An industry representative said the tariffs were "severely disrupting" Canada's auto business.

Donald Trump may have pulled back from his sweeping tariff assault — but for Canada's autoworkers, their problems feel far from over.

On Wednesday, he announced a 90-day pause for the wave of "reciprocal" tariffs but kept in place the 25% levy on imported vehicles that analysts have warned will devastate the North American auto industry.

Canada, which exports the vast majority of its cars to the US, has already seen factory pauses and temporary layoffs because of the tariffs, and workers told Business Insider they are bracing for further chaos and disruption.

Jeff Gray, a longtime autoworker and the president of the local Unifor union in Oshawa, Ontario, described the atmosphere at the city's General Motors plant as anxious, with workers "bracing for impact."

"It affects morale. Our members come to work every day and work hard to take home a paycheck to their family. They need to pay their mortgages, they need to pay their rent, their car payments, and everything that comes along," he told BI.

"Having that anxiousness that all that could be taken away from us at any moment, it does have an impact," said Gray.

GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

One worker at an Ontario plant run by F&P Mfg, a Japanese auto parts supplier, told BI that the tariff uncertainty was already being felt at her factory, which supplies car parts to Honda, Stellantis, GM, and Tesla.

She said that production for US-based companies like GM and Stellantis had decreased since Trump won the election and that the factory had cut weekend shifts due to US production drops.

"We are absolutely concerned. It's similar to COVID. We know the reality is any day we go into work, we could be laid off," said the worker, whose partner also works in the auto industry.

"We have a little savings we were going to use for our honeymoon, but now we're saving that as backup money," she added.

F&P Mfg did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

End of the 'invisible border'

The tariffs have already shaken Ontario's auto industry. Jeep and RAM owner Stellantis said last week it would idle production at its Windsor, Ontario factory and temporarily lay off 4,500 hourly workers.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, warned last month that the tariffs could lead to factory shutdowns on both sides of the border.

Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, told BI the tariffs were "severely disrupting" Canadian supply chains that have been closely integrated with their southern neighbor for the past 60 years.

"Auto companies don't have any certainty around what the trade rules are and what they may be," said Kingston.

He added that the "completely inconsistent" trade barriers will have an "extremely devastating" impact on the Canadian economy and, if they remain in place long-term, may lead to production and job losses in the US and Canada.

"People are scared and confused. There's fear of job losses, hour reductions, and layoffs," said the F&P Mfg worker, who asked to be kept anonymous because she was not authorized to speak to the press. BI has verified her identity.

"Since COVID, many jobs haven't returned to the way they were; soaring prices and inflation have just made it hard to live," she added.

Gray said Oshawa's autoworkers were surprised by the sudden imposition of tariffs by a country that has long been a close partner.

"I was just taken aback. Here in Canada, we're so used to having almost an invisible border between us and the United States," he said.

"Honestly, I thought we had this friendship and relationship with our American friends that this would never happen," Gray added.

Canada has already signaled it is prepared to fight back against the tariffs, and Trump's broader suggestion he could attempt to turn Canada into a 51st state. On Wednesday, the Canadian government imposed its own 25% tariff on certain vehicle exports from the US.

Gray said the initial shock and uncertainty had given way to a sense of solidarity among the union's members.

"There's a level of defiance. Our membership is sick of being antagonized by Donald Trump," he said.

"Everybody knows we've earned these jobs over 90 years. We are going to fight and do whatever we have to do to make sure these auto jobs remain in Ontario," Gray added.