Ontario workers vote on GM's 1.1 billion dollar contract
Unifor put a 1.1 billion dollar tentative General Motors contract to 4,600 Ontario members; the package covers Sierra assembly at Oshawa and transmission work at St. Catherines. In the same week President Donald Trump used a 1930 tariff clause to put a 50 per cent tax on Canadian imports. The vote tests cross-border auto investment under a live tariff threat.
Economics & Markets··Midday
Unifor puts the 1.1 billion dollar package to a vote
A bargaining report Unifor released on Saturday puts the tentative contract with General Motors at 1.1 billion dollars in Canadian currency for the country's car industry. The 4,600 union members in Ontario vote on the text on Saturday and Sunday. Of the package, 144 million dollars covers assembly of the next-generation heavy-duty GMC Sierra pickup at the Oshawa plant. Another 215 million dollars goes to a new-generation transmission at a separate factory in St. Catherines, starting in late 2029. A 691 million dollar commitment to V8 engines was announced back in April.[1]
GM undertakes not to close the Ingersoll plant
GM also undertook not to close or sell the CAMI plant in Ingersoll while it studies alternative production for the site. The US tariff on vehicles arriving from Canada stands at 25 per cent, and Washington has threatened to lift it to 50 per cent at the start of 2027. The contract vote takes place against that threat, and the package ties investment commitments to specific factory lines.[1]
Washington invoked a 1930 tariff clause
President Donald Trump leaned on Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 a week ago when he put a 50 per cent tax on 20 billion dollars of Canadian imports. The authority has never been used and never been tested in court, and Ottawa answered with dollar-for-dollar retaliation. The administration reached back to the Depression-era statute to punish Canada over what it calls discrimination against US dairy, automotive and alcoholic beverage exports. Some lawyers argue later trade legislation has left the 1930 provision obsolete.[2]
