Statement - On the Canada-China Strategic Partnership

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 16, 2026 /CNW/ - Today's announcement of a new strategic partnership between the Government of Canada and the People's Republic of China represents a sharp and concerning shift in Canada's trade and industrial strategy.

While Ottawa frames this deal as a way to diversify markets for Canadian farmers and exporters, it ultimately puts both groups at risk, offering uncertain, short-term relief for canola and select fisheries while endangering hundreds of thousands of good jobs across Canada's manufacturing and industrial sectors. In the end, no sector truly wins, and workers in every industry are left more vulnerable.

At its core, this deal drastically reduces Canada's surtax on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), creating a pathway for tens of thousands of inexpensive, state-subsidized vehicles to flood our auto market. As the largest private-sector union in Canada has warned, opening our market to Chinese EVs risks undermining our domestic auto industry, jeopardizing existing jobs, suppressing investment, and eroding the independent supply chain that sustains thousands of Canadian workers.

The Government's willingness to trade hard-earned leverage on issues like auto tariffs and North American cooperation for temporary tariff reductions on canola and some seafood products is deeply troubling. The relief offered for agriculture and fisheries is time-limited, uncertain beyond this year, and insufficient compensation for exposing strategic industries to global competition fueled by massive state intervention.

This agreement raises serious questions about the broader strategy of the Canadian Government in its dealings with our most important economic partners--the United States and the European Union. And it ignores China's ongoing human rights abuses including the documented use of forced labour and the suppression of workers' rights.

Instead of charting a coherent, worker-first trade strategy, Ottawa appears to be trading one form of instability for another, responding to the chaos and unpredictability of Trump-style U.S. trade policy by opening the door to state-subsidized Chinese imports that threaten to hollow out Canada's manufacturing base. Workers are being asked to absorb the risks on both sides: job insecurity driven by U.S. trade volatility on the one hand, and the long-term destruction of domestic manufacturing capacity on the other. Neither approach protects workers, communities, or Canada's economic sovereignty, and both leave working people paying the price.

Canada cannot secure a prosperous future by sacrificing job security and industrial resilience for symbolic gains. A responsible trade strategy must defend Canadian workers, uphold fair trade principles, and coordinate with allies to ensure that global competition does not come at the expense of Canadian workers, industry and communities.

SOURCE Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)

To arrange an interview, please contact: CLC Media Relations, [email protected], 613-526-7426