Canada Unveils $6.2 Billion Shield for Steel and Auto Plants

Canada has announced a support package worth 8.7 billion Canadian dollars, about 6.2 billion US dollars, to protect its steel, auto and critical minerals industries from United States tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled the plan together in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026, and warned that Washington has permanently altered a trade relationship built over decades.

The package directs 3.7 billion dollars to steelmakers and 1.8 billion dollars to automakers over five years, with 1.1 billion dollars of the auto funding coming from the federal government in Ottawa. It also backs road infrastructure toward the mineral rich Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario, part of a push to secure the critical mineral supply chain at home.

What Carney and Ford said

"US tariffs have upended a trade bargain that's existed for decades," Carney said. "They've raised costs for American families while putting Ontario workers and businesses at a disadvantage." He added: "Tariffs make both our industries weaker and reduce choice for our families."

Ford was direct about the longer term. "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," he said.

Carney confirmed he spoke at length with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, covering trade, Iran and the Middle East. He signalled no breakthrough, but said Canada remains ready to negotiate. Talks collapsed in August after Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on around 20 billion dollars in Canadian goods, which prompted Canadian retaliation.

The damage in the numbers

The trade figures already show the strain. Canadian auto exports to the United States have fallen more than 10 percent, while US exports to Canada have dropped more than 20 percent, a decline Carney said hurts both sides of the border.

The announcement came the same day US owned Cleveland Cliffs confirmed layoffs at its Hamilton, Ontario plant, a reminder of the human cost behind the policy argument. Separate reporting put up to 500 jobs at risk as steel operations in Hamilton are idled amid trade disruption and weaker demand.

The joint federal and provincial plan builds on federal assistance programs that have already sent more than 25 billion Canadian dollars to Canadian workers and businesses dealing with US tariffs. From mine to mill to assembly line, Carney said, Canada and Ontario are protecting jobs today while investing for a more independent economy.