TORONTO – Government officials are pushing back against a report that Honda is considering shifting some Canadian production to the United States in response to tariffs, calling it inaccurate and unconfirmed.
Japan’s Nikkei financial newspaper reported Tuesday that Honda is looking to shift enough Canadian CR-V and Civic production to the U.S. so that it can meet 90 per cent of U.S. sales with vehicles produced there, up from its current level of about 70 per cent.
Federal Industry Minister Anita Anand refuted the claim in a social media post.
“I am in close contact with the company, and Honda has communicated that no such production decisions affecting Canadian operations have been made, and are not being considered at this time.”
Anand said she would be meeting with the CEO of Honda Canada, later today for further clarity. The company itself has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier that the head of Honda Canada has told him the report is inaccurate. Ford and his office say Honda told them the company does want to increase production in the U.S., but not at the expense of Canadian production.
Honda’s operations in Alliston, Ont., has about 4,200 employees and produced around 375,000 vehicles in Canada in 2023.
Ford’s office says Honda has assured the province that the Canadian facility continues to operate at full capacity and there are no job impacts on the horizon.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a campaign stop that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff are an attempt to “pull apart” the integration of North America’s auto industry.
“We are seeing some of the impacts in the short term of that with layoffs for some of our automakers, potential shifts in production.”
The U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all imported vehicles on April 3 including ones produced in Canada despite the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade deal, significantly raising costs for all importers.
Carney said he doesn’t think the Trump administration is taking into account how integrated the industry is and that it will likely have to make permanent the currently temporary tariff exemption on auto parts from Canada.
In an effort to lessen the hit to the auto sector in Canada, the federal government on Tuesday announced that producers that maintain their production levels in Canada would be able to import a certain number of U.S. assembled vehicles into Canada free of tariff counter-measures.
The move comes as Mazda confirmed it was halting production of Canada-bound CX-50 vehicles at its Alabama plant because they’re subject to Canada’s counter-tariffs.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre condemned Donald Trump’s “unfair targeting of Canada” while saying that Canada’s counter-tariffs should remain in place.
Speaking outside a Montreal hospital, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that Canada should block auto companies such as Honda from removing infrastructure from Canada that public money helped pay for.
He also said Canada should implement rules preventing automakers from selling vehicles in Canada if they don’t have a manufacturing presence here.
“There’s over 40 million Canadians. We have a growing population because of our immigration policies. So this is a desirable market for auto companies to sell. If you’re going to sell a car in Canada, you have to have a footprint in Canada. Meaning you have make cars here or you have jobs here,” Singh said.
Last year, Honda announced a $15-billion commitment to its Canadian operations to create an electric vehicle supply chain in Ontario. The plans, supported by up to $5 billion in public funds, include building an electric vehicle battery plant next to its existing Alliston plant.
— With files from Allison Jones, Liam Casey, Kyle Duggan, Nick Murray and David Baxter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025.
