Liberals invited Chinese EVs into Canada. Now they’re warning us about them

Carney's government gave China 49,000 EV import permits annually at a 6.1% tariff, rising to 70,000 by 2030. According to Blacklocks, cabinet documents confirm this represents 51% of Canada's battery electric vehicle market based on a five-year average. Then Public Safety Canada issued an internal memo warning Canadians that Chinese connected vehicles can be used for surveillance. Jim and Iain on the contradiction.

Topics covered:

► The Canada-China EV deal effective March 1, 2026: up to 49,000 electrified vehicles entering Canada annually at a 6.1% tariff, structured in two six-month windows of 24,500 vehicles each, with no requirement for sub-$35,000 vehicles in the first year and the quota rising to 70,000 by 2030

► Blacklocks reporting that cabinet documents tabled in the Commons confirm the 49,000 quota represents 51% of Canada's battery electric vehicle market based on the five-year annual average of 123,000 units, while Carney and the Minister of Industry described it as a small quota

► Expert analysis warning that Canadian taxpayers could hand nearly $1 billion in federal EV credits directly to Chinese automakers through Canada's ZEV mandate regulatory system, creating a revenue line for Chinese companies at the expense of Canadian ones

► Public Safety Canada's internal memo warning Canadians to be vigilant when buying Chinese EVs, stating that connected vehicle systems can be used to establish patterns of life and conduct surveillance of sensitive areas, and that opening markets to new players can amplify the presence of high-risk vendors

► The intellectual contradiction: the government that issued the surveillance warning is the government that negotiated the deal bringing those vehicles to Canada, and the government that pursues the most restrictive firearms legislation in Canadian history on precautionary grounds is telling Canadians to do their own due diligence on Chinese EVs

► François-Philippe Champagne's May 2024 quote that Canada would "never" serve as a backdoor for Chinese EVs into North America, and what the March 2026 deal represents relative to that commitment

► China's use of agricultural tariffs as leverage: approximately 85% tariffs imposed on Canadian canola in 2024 producing disunity between western agricultural interests and eastern consumers, with China reducing canola tariffs to approximately 15% in exchange for the 49,000 EV permits

► The opposition to the deal: US government maintaining 100% tariffs, American Democrats and Republicans both opposing Chinese EVs, Japanese automakers representing approximately 70% of Canadian auto sales opposing the deal, and legacy automakers opposing it, while Stellantis cancelled a $2.5 billion EV battery plant in Windsor citing policy uncertainty

► The first Chinese EV to arrive under the new quota being a Lotus Eletre starting at $119,900, with no affordable alternatives yet confirmed despite the government's affordability pitch

► Jim and Iain's argument: China bullied Canada with agricultural tariffs, produced national disunity, and Canada rewarded the bullying with EV market access, establishing a pattern where bad behaviour produces concessions

Is Canada's Chinese EV deal a trade win or a capitulation to economic bullying?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

The Really Big Show: the thinking Canadian's daily briefing, independent and informed.

🔴 Live every weekday at 9AM PST
📍 Independent. Unapologetic. Canadian.
👉 Support the show: https://thereallybigshow.ca

Subscribe | Share | Comment — help us grow independent Canadian media.

#canadiannews #canadapolitics #canada #nowmedia #thereallybigshow #chineseevs #evcanada #publicsafety #markcarney #chinatrade

Видео Liberals invited Chinese EVs into Canada. Now they’re warning us about them канала The Really Big Show