Auto union leader slams suggestion to ‘phase out’ Canadian auto sector

(File)

As uncertainty mounts over potential U.S. auto tariffs, a prominent Ontario union leader is firing back at a proposal to shift Canada away from car manufacturing altogether.

John D’Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200 in Windsor, is calling the idea “ignorant” and “absurd,” after an op-ed published in The Globe and Mail suggested Canada should consider phasing out its auto sector rather than bailing it out in the face of economic threats.

“I don’t know what he’s thinking,” D’Agnolo said. “To be quite frank with you, I think it’s ignorant that he would say such a thing.”

The editorial was written by Chris Worswick, head of the economics department at Carleton University.

In it, he argues the auto sector is “important, but not essential,” pointing to a potential shift toward military manufacturing in regions hit hardest by job losses.

“I think we need to figure out where things are going with this tariff war before making any big decisions,” Worswick told CTV News on Monday. “Instead of putting the money into bailing out companies, maybe there’s another way to go.”

D’Agnolo said that kind of thinking ignores the deeply embedded role auto manufacturing plays in Ontario’s economy — and the wide ripple effects any cuts would have.

“It would destroy communities throughout Ontario,” he said. “Windsor would not exist without the manufacturing industry ... and then you’re folding in the restaurants and the grocery stores and everything that comes along with it.”

“It would devastate large communities,” he said.

D’Agnolo said his own local alone represents just under 2,000 jobs — but many more jobs rely on those operations.

“The members are on pins and needles,” D’Agnolo added. “They have houses and mortgages and car payments and kids in school. This is something ... they’re on edge.”

The current pause on auto tariffs is set to expire in April.

Canadian and U.S. industry leaders are hoping a longer-term solution is found before then.