Minister to lobby for Ontario auto industry

Ontario’s trade minister will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to defend the province’s auto industry at a U.S. Department of Commerce hearing.

Jim Wilson said he will speak Thursday at the public hearing to investigate U.S. national security issues around imports of automobiles and automotive parts.

Wilson said he plans to stress the economic benefits of working with Ontario’s auto sector.

“It is clear that Ontario is not a national security risk to the United States,” he said. “The U.S. and Ontario share many of the same goals — together, we can advance our shared priorities of creating jobs on both sides of the border by developing strong, competitive business environments that spur innovation and growth.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has slapped duties on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from Canada and other allies and threatened similar duties on Canadian-made cars and parts.

Wilson called for balanced and fair trade between the two countries, adding that Canada and the U.S. have an integrated supply chain that benefits both.

“One in five jobs in Ontario, or 1.3 million jobs in Ontario, depend on good relations with the United States and our trade relations,” Wilson said.

“In the United States, we want to go down there this week and make it clear that nine million jobs [in the U.S.] depend on good NAFTA negotiations with the United States, and that’s what I’ll be doing at the end of the week.”

Wilson’s trip to the U.S. comes as Ontario Premier Doug Ford has pledged to work closely with the federal government on trade.