Windsor, Ont., autoworkers say they feel betrayed by Trump's tariffs
'It's just bad. It's not fair,' one autoworker says
News that Trump will impose double-digit tariffs on Canadian imports beginning this week is weighing heavily on the minds of Windsor, Ont., autoworkers and others in the sector.
Jonathan Klein works at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant, where the Chrysler Pacifica, Grand Caravan and Dodge Charger Daytona are built.
Speaking outside the facility where he has worked since 2014, Klein said he has a young family and he didn't sleep very well after hearing the news.
"There's definitely a lot of worry there," he said.
He called the move short-sighted, and said both the U.S. and Canadian economies will suffer.
"I was pretty devastated when I heard the news.... it feels very unreasonable. We're America's, I'd say closest, neighbour and friend, and it just feels like betrayal to me," he said.
The tariffs were set to kick in on Tuesday. Trump has signalled he wants to boost domestic manufacturing and wants Canada to take action on securing its border.
Canada has slapped 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products in response, with a further $125 billion in imports to face tariffs within weeks.
Daryl Wiznuk, who has worked at the plant for 30 years, said he also feels "betrayed," noting how Canada has stood by the U.S. through various conflicts.
If there are layoffs, he worries about the younger workers who have less seniority.
"It's just bad. It's not fair," he said.
Autoworker Mark Merkestyn said, "They're hurting themselves, they're hurting us, they're hurting everybody, all to fill this guy's ego."
Workers in Windsor-Essex also build the engines for the popular Ford F-150 and Super Duty trucks.
John D'Agnolo is president of Unifor Local 200, the union representing workers at Ford's two engine plants in the region.
D'Agnolo worries the industry will be left devastated after tariffs drive up the cost of the vehicles and lead to decreased production and job losses.
"They absolutely make no sense," he said of the tariffs. "It's one of the most frustrating things I've dealt with in a long time, when you think about what we build here."
He said the engines have thousands of parts, and crossing the border back and forth in the process, and face tariffs along the way.
"So just think about the engine alone, the cost on the engine alone, let alone the other parts on the vehicle," he said.
CBC News has requested comment from Ford but did not hear back on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Stellantis declined to comment, but referred CBC News to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association (CVMA).
CVMA president and CEO Brian Kingston said he worries about the "immediate economic devastation" caused by the tariffs, and what it means for North America's ability to compete with the rest of the world in the shift to electric vehicles.
He said that right now, there's "no such thing" as a U.S.-built car because the components and parts are sourced from manufacturers throughout the continent.
Once tariffs are imposed, those parts will get more expensive, but U.S.-based manufacturers don't have the ability to quickly address the new demand for domestic parts.
Kingston said 22 per cent of U.S. vehicles are assembled in Canada and Mexico.
"Estimates are that to replace Canadian production, you would need five, six new assembly plants in the United States at a cost of $50 billion. That is just not realistic."
He anticipates rising vehicle prices along production stoppages at plants across North America as cross-border supply chains — which the auto sector relies deeply on -— are turned on their head.
"And ultimately, we could see job losses in the sector as companies grapple with this new reality."
'Last thing we need,' Whitmer says
People on the other side of the border are also expressing fears for the auto sector.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer likened it to a middle-class tax hike for Americans. She said the tariffs will hurt the state's autoworkers, and drive up the price of cars, groceries and energy.
"Michiganders are already struggling with high costs, and the last thing we need is for those costs to increase even more," she said in a video posted to social media on Saturday.
Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democratic member of Congress from Michigan, spoke to CBC's Rosemary Barton on Sunday.
"I truly have no idea what the president of the United States is doing right now," she said. "I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why he would impose and levy a tariff... which is usually (levelled) at an adversary at best, if not an enemy, on our best ally."
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With files from Pratyush Dayal