Protecting Windsor Auto Workers
October 1, 2025
Minister Valdez outlines federal tariff-response supports to keep workers employed and help businesses adapt
Recently, at Unifor Local 444, the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), outlined how the federal government’s tariff-response measures will support Ontario’s auto workers, parts suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The focus is clear: Keep paycheques coming, help firms manage cash flow, and make the investments needed to stay competitive through the trade disruptions.
What this means for auto workers:
- Training and upskilling: The government is introducing a new $450 million reskilling package to train 50,000 workers through employer-based training, short courses and career counselling. Workers can also access financial assistance while in training to retain their job or fill in-demand jobs, enabling them to continue contributing to the Canadian economy.
- Income support when it’s needed most: Starting October 12, 2025 (retroactive to June 15, 2025), 20 extra weeks of EI will be available for long-tenured workers (up to 65 weeks total). This is expected to support about 190,000 long-tenured workers. Additionally, workers will see extensions to April 11, 2026, of the temporary suspension of separation-payment rules and waiver of the one-week waiting period, supporting an additional 700,000 claimants.
- Help to succeed in the changing labour market: The government is investing $382 million to launch new workforce alliances, bringing together employers, unions and industry groups to help businesses and workers succeed in the changing labour market. A new Sectoral Workforce Investment Fund will invest in projects tailored to local job markets to help businesses recruit and retain the workforce they need.
What this means for auto industry businesses:
- Strategic Response Fund: The government is investing $5 billion through the Strategic Response Fund to help firms in sectors impacted by tariffs adapt to the evolving economic context, diversify their capabilities and secure new markets to enable long-term growth.
- Regional Tariff Response Initiative: The government is expanding support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), including automotive parts suppliers, through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative by increasing total available funding from $450 million to $1 billion over three years, with flexible terms, and expanding non-repayable contributions to eligible businesses impacted by tariffs across all affected sectors.
- Immediate liquidity relief: The government is increasing the maximum loan size available to SMEs through the Business Development Bank of Canada from $2 million to $5 million. In addition, more flexible financing will be made available to larger firms through the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility.
The automotive industry is one of the largest manufacturing sectors in Canada and is a key driver of economic activity in our country. As we look towards the future, the government is ensuring businesses and workers in the sector can seize opportunities at home and around the world.
Quotes
“When tariffs hit, families feel it at the kitchen table and workers feel it on the shop floor. Our government’s new measures will secure jobs, protect incomes, and expand training so workers can build stronger careers. We will always stand with Windsor auto workers, today and every day.”
– The Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
Quick facts
- The $5 billion being invested through the Strategic Response Fund (SRF) will help businesses adapt to the evolving economic landscape and give them time to invest in their future. As part of Canada’s tariff response, the SRF will deliver timely, targeted funding to impacted firms, especially to those in sectors most profoundly affected by trade disruptions, such as automotive, steel, forestry and aluminum. The SRF aims to build long-term resilience and global competitiveness by offsetting new market access costs, boosting industrial capacity, supporting retooling, and facilitating plans by Canada-based firms to expand or secure new markets. The SRF will fund activities ranging from early-stage research and development to commercialization to large-scale capital investments that modernize production.
- The SRF is part of a broad set of tariff-support measures, including the workforce alliances, the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility, the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Pivot to Grow initiative and the Regional Tariff Response Initiative. Together, these measures are reinforcing Canada’s industrial strength and defending jobs across the country. The workforce alliances and the SRF will complement each other to ensure a comprehensive and strategic response for tariff-impacted firms and to ensure that fund recipients receive support to address workforce challenges.
- Windsor–Essex’s automotive sector employs approximately 24,000 workers, with over 60% of them involved in vehicle assembly and parts manufacturing roles. This robust workforce foundation has positioned the region as an essential contributor to automotive manufacturing across North America. Of the region’s automotive firms, nearly 98% are considered small to medium-sized enterprises.
- To support the liquidity of all sectors impacted by tariffs, the government will immediately provide:
- more low-cost capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) through the Business Development Bank of Canada, increasing its maximum loan size from $2 million to $5 million
- flexibilities to the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility, including lower interest rates and longer maturities
- The government is more than doubling the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, from $450 million to $1 billion over three years. Support includes non-repayable contributions of up to $1 million for SMEs, along with larger strategic investments in key regions such as Windsor to allow businesses to invest in their growth, diversify markets and create new revenue sources by adopting innovative technologies and bringing new products and services to market.
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Government of Canada Acts to Protect Canadian Steel Jobs, Announces Support to an Industry Leader
The global trade landscape is rapidly changing, as the United States fundamentally transforms all of its trading relationships. While Canada retains the best overall deal of any U.S. trading partner, with over 85% of our trade tariff-free, the impact on key sectors like steel is profound. That is why the government has introduced targeted measures to support Canada’s steel industry, protect Canadian jobs, and strengthen domestic industrial capacity.
