Auto-sector union leaders struck a defiant tone at an emergency meeting in London, Ont., on Thursday, vowing to continue standing up against American President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods and threatening worker action if companies try to move production to the United States. 

“If they think they can appease Trump by shifting production out of Canada, there’s going to be a massive, massive fight in this country,” said Lana Payne, the national president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

“Ultimately, we are workers, and we are a worker’s union. We may have to take worker action in order to make sure that we’re protecting our jobs and our industry and our country, not just for today, but for the next generation. We’re willing to do all of that, and we will have to do all of that.” 

Granting a 30-day pause on tariffs on Canadian automotive goods coming into the States, Trump directed automakers to take the time to come up with a plan to shift production from Mexico and Canada to the United States. 

“It’s a very dangerous time right now. There is so much at stake and so much at risk,” she said. “We didn’t go looking for this fight but we have to protect our jobs and our industries and our country right now.” 

Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke by telephone on Wednesday. Trudeau told reporters that Trump seems committed to tariffs over the longer term and is using tariffs to pressure companies to move production to the United States. 

At Thursday’s emergency meeting, union leaders seemed determined to hold firm on retaliatory tariffs while also looking to build up the Canadian auto sector and working with other partners to continue trade. 

‘You can’t just surrender to a bully’

“We need to make sure that we streamline our action plan and our next steps because all political parties in Canada are looking for Unifor’s input,” said Emile Nabbout, head of the Independent Auto Parts Council and president of Unifor Local 195, which represents about 4,500 members in the Windsor, Ont., area. 

The 30-day pause on auto tariffs is meaningless, he said. “You can’t just surrender to a bully. He wants to declare war on Canada, but it’s going to make Canada more resilient. We’ve been too complacent for too long.” 

Nabbout added that Canada has to diversify its economy and make sure it can rely on itself and other trading partners. “I think out of this chaos that Donald Trump is creating is a lesson learned that Canada must have a plan that doesn’t rely 100 per cent on the United States.” 

Payne agreed that other sectors, too, will need to step up and change. 

“Our union has been saying for many, many years that we need industrial plans for the auto sector, the aerospace sector, the forestry sector,” Payne said. “Canada has to use the many tools and incredible leverage and resources we have to build the Canadian economy for Canadians.”