January 30, 2025
Unifor leadership engaged with hundreds of representatives from Unifor locals from across the country on Jan. 28 to discuss the tariff threat and our union’s approach to protect jobs and safeguard our economy.
“This union has faced many big challenges in its past, including both a global financial crisis and a global pandemic that threw our world upside down,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne during the webinar.
“We know how to work through a crisis. We know how to organize ourselves to fight for our members and workers everywhere. We know how to bring the best of our union together and that is what we are going to do. That is what we are doing.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration are threatening to impose a 25% tariff on all imported products from Canada and Mexico, as soon as Feb. 1.
“As you have seen for the past weeks, the goalposts continually change, and the demands continue to grow. He has said the U.S. doesn’t need Canada’s cars, our energy, our oil and gas, our lumber, our food or dairy. We can expect the sectors of the economy he targets will also continue to grow,” said Payne.
“It doesn’t matter that none of that is true, he has a mission, and that mission is to drive investment from Canada into the United States. To reduce the trade deficit that he sees as a subsidy and to make demands on us that have nothing to do with trade. And to use money collected from tariffs to reduce taxes for his wealthy friends.”
Payne said that since Trump’s election in November, she has met with employers, politicians, trade experts, policy makers and other unions, speaking with them on nearly a daily basis about how the threat of tariffs and the detrimental impact it would have on Canadian workers, jobs and the economy.
Following her appointment to the prime minister’s Canada-U.S. Trade Advisory Council, Payne warned employers and governments to not exploit this moment of crisis and roll back the clock on workers’ rights and wins already made at the bargaining table. She also called for politicians, regardless of party lines, to work together to create a united and coordinated strategy that brings Canadians together.
“Because this is the fight of our lives. And any politician who doesn’t understand that must feel our wrath,” said Payne.
“We will need to retaliate hard if we are presented with tariffs. We will need pandemic-type support measures for workers and industries impacted by any trade war. We will also need to use every single lever we have to build and save good Canadian jobs. Including putting our procurement dollars to work, putting Canadians to work.”
Unifor has also created a trade task force in reaction to the tariff threat, with sector teams organized to support union locals, bringing the full force of resources and solidarity together to fight back. Payne said the union wants to hear from locals whether companies are making threats or seeking concessions, looking to expand or reduce production, and if employers are bringing tariffs to the bargaining table.
During the meeting with local presidents and other local representatives, Payne and the national elected leadership team provided an update on the work the union has engaged in to protect Canadian workers and outlined Unifor’s position on Canada’s response to tariffs and pro-active measures needed to protect jobs.
Unifor has more than 120,000 members employed in trade-dependent areas of the economy and tens of thousands of others in the transport of goods.
National Secretary-Treasurer Len Poirier said road, rail and inland marine are the modes of transportation that will be most affected, with air freight to a lesser extent.
“We have many jobs in this sector – transportation is one of the larger sectors in the Canadian economy and it is the means in which these products get back and forth, so it could have significant impact and we’ll be watching,” he said.
“It really shows us the connection of different sectors and how they intertwine and support each other in this chain of logistics.”
Unifor Quebec Director Daniel Cloutier called on members across sectors and geographical zones to unite if tariffs are imposed to demand government action.
“We will get hit. With a guy like Trump, the only solution we have as Canadians, is to grab the bull by its horns…It’s a moment in time where all members have to get involved politically to create solidarity to all the workers to survive the impact,” he said.
“We need a government that has to stand up and have a spine. The law of the marketplace is not the solution. It’s time to put the country before the party.”
Replying to a question on the potential impact on the forestry sector, Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle warned that prices will drive up for Americans as well, reduce sales and impact mills in Canada.
“We do have companies operating on both sides of the border,” he said. “This is really an existential threat to everyone. This is going to lead to consolidation to the U.S. and ongoing production and significant long-term investment is what our forestry industry needs.”
McGarrigle will participate in meetings this week as a member in the B.C. premier’s Trade and Economic Security Taskforce and the Manitoba premier’s U.S. Trade Council, both formed explicitly to deal with tariff threats.
Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray said she has participated in government roundtable discussions in Newfoundland and Labrador in response to the threat.
“In Newfoundland and Labrador, there are huge exports to the U.S., including fish, energy, forestry and others, and concerns of tariffs,” she said.
“There are some really creative ideas coming from some of the participants at the table. The tariff threat touches many of our members across the Atlantic and it’s a huge benefit sitting at those tables in those conversations.”
As Ontario readies for a February 27 election day, there is no doubt the uncertainty of tariffs is front-of-mind for workers, said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi.
“A unified way of working is exactly what we need to be doing,” said Hashi, adding we need all hands-on-deck to prevent job losses and safeguard our economic future.
“We’ll just continue on with the fight and I look forward to working with all of you and having those conversations.”
Unifor will continue to meet with elected representatives and employers to discuss measures to safeguard our economy and protect workers and their families.
Read Unifor’s recommendations to protect jobs and our economy here.
