Updated Jan. 20, 2026, 10:20 a.m. ET
- Canada and China announced a new trade agreement allowing up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market.
- The deal is expected to drive new Chinese investment in Canada’s auto manufacturing sector within three years.
- Canada’s Unifor union criticized the agreement, stating it puts Canadian auto jobs at risk.
You could soon buy a BYD electric car in Canada under a new trade agreement between the nation and China that was announced on Friday, Jan. 16.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into its market, with the most-favored-nation tariff rate of 6.1%. Carney’s office said the amount of Chinese EVs it plans to allow to be sold in Canada «corresponds to volumes in the year prior to recent trade frictions on these imports (2023-2024), representing less than 3% of the Canadian market for new vehicles sold in Canada.»
Carney’s office said «it is expected that within three years, this agreement will drive considerable new Chinese joint-venture investment in Canada with trusted partners to protect and create new auto manufacturing careers for Canadian workers, and ensure a robust build-out of Canada’s EV supply chain.»
«With this agreement, it is also anticipated that, in five years, more than 50% of these vehicles will be affordable EVs with an import price of less than $35,000, creating new lower-cost options for Canadian consumers,» Carney’s office said.
Who are the current biggest EV sellers in Canada?
These were the top-selling EV models in Canada from 2020-2024, according to the Canada Energy Regulator:
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model Y
- Hyundai IONIQ 5
- Hyundai Kona Electric
- Volkswagen ID.4
What do unions think about Canada allowing Chinese EVs to be sold there?
The Unifor union, which is Canada’s largest private sector labor group, panned the deal to allow Chinese EVs to be sold in Canada.
«This is a self-inflicted wound to an already injured Canadian auto industry,» Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement. «Providing a foothold to cheap Chinese EVs, backed by massive state subsidies, overproduction and designed to expand market share through exports, puts Canadian auto jobs at risk while rewarding, labour violations and unfair trade practices.»
Payne also said the decision will make it harder for Canada to solved problems caused by U.S. tariffs on Canadian vehicles and rollbacks to U.S. EV policies that she said have harmed the nation’s autoworkers.
«Finding a resolution to U.S. auto tariffs just got more difficult as Canada has surrendered the leverage of opening our market to China,» she said.
What do US EV supporters think about Canada allowing Chinese EVs to be sold there?
U.S. electric car supporters blamed President Donald Trump‘s tariffs for opening the door to the Canada-China deal.
“China just gained a foothold in the North American EV market, and it did not happen by accident,» Mike Murphy, CEO of the American EV Jobs Alliance, said in a statement.
«When U.S. trade policy becomes chaotic, unpredictable and destructive, bad outcomes are inevitable,» Murphy continued. «President Trump has really bungled the job when it comes to standing up for U.S. auto jobs and North American auto manufacturing.»
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Albert Gore, the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association in Washington and the son of former Vice President Al Gore, said in a statement the Canada-China announcement, and also a previous announcement of a similar deal between China and the European Union, «shows that the global automotive market’s interest in electric transportation remains strong.»
“Electric vehicles are great products and popular with drivers,» Gore said. «If the United States does not invest in them, our global competitors will.»
The U.S. House Select Committee on China said in post on the social media website X, «Canada’s decision to open its market to Chinese electric vehicles risks giving Beijing a foothold in the North American auto market, threatening thousands of jobs and undermining a century of integrated automotive leadership.»
