OTTAWA
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced nearly $9 billion in joint support on Wednesday for the province's steel, auto and critical mineral sectors, all hit by U.S. tariffs.
The package includes more than $5 billion for the steel industry and $2.5 billion for the auto sector, alongside a $1 billion federal commitment to build roads to the Ring of Fire mining region.
"Protecting what we have is not enough," Carney said. "We have to go further to transform our economy and to secure our future."
The U.S. tariffs have upended a "trade bargain" that has existed for decades, Carney said, putting Ontario workers and businesses "at a disadvantage and under a cloud of uncertainty."
The Joint Steel Action Fund consists of $3.55 billion from Ottawa and $1.67 billion from Ontario over five years.
Carney said the funding will help mills upgrade machinery and manufacture more products Canada needs, such as for pipelines, defence and nuclear energy.
It is also expected to protect roughly 100,000 jobs in the sector and comes with a pledge to ramp up protections against foreign steel dumping.
The announcement comes as hundreds of workers face layoffs at Stelco's Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities.
Its owner, Cleveland-Cliffs, made legally binding job commitments when it bought Stelco in 2024.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has threatened legal action if the company fails to reinstate workers.
"When you make a commitment with the Government of Canada, you respect that commitment, and the government will hold companies to (that) responsibility," Carney said.
The auto funding, with $1.5 billion from Ottawa and $1 billion from Ontario, is aimed at helping carmakers add technology to build electric and connected vehicles.
Carney said Canada's auto exports to the U.S. have declined by more than 10 per cent due to the tariffs, while U.S. exports to Canada have fallen by more than 20 per cent.
Brendan Sweeney of the Pacific Manufacturing Association of Canada said the auto sector's priority remains negotiating a free trade deal, noting the funding does not come close to the sector's estimated $7 billion annual U.S. tariff bill.
Brian Kingston of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association said the funds would help protect Canadian jobs, production and investment at a "challenging" time.
Ottawa is also committing up to $1 billion over three years to build road infrastructure to reach the Ring of Fire, matching a previous pledge from Ontario.
Ford said the investment will help unlock "70,000 jobs and $22 billion in economic activity" powered by the region's critical minerals.
The governments will create a working group with local Indigenous communities to engage on economic development and conservation.
Some First Nations support the road for economic opportunities, while others oppose it, saying they haven't been consulted and it will change their way of life.
Carney said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning and Canada remains ready to negotiate a trade deal that protects Canadian interests.
Ford said the Canada-U.S. relationship has changed "permanently."
"No matter what happens in the midterms, no matter who sits in the White House, we’re not going back to the way things were, and we need to plan accordingly," he said.
The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa issued a statement Wednesday urging Canadians to "refrain from attempting to participate in or influence U.S. elections in any way."
Both leaders brushed off those complaints.
"I have no interest at all interfering in American elections," Ford said.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by The Globe and Mail, Canada's National Observer, CFJC Today Kamloops and CTV News. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.