Ottawa and Ontario announce $8.7 billion for tariff-hit industries

Ottawa and Ontario announced $8.7 billion in investments on October 21 for industries and workers hit by U.S. tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods.

The auto share is $2.5 billion over two years for capital projects, such as modern machinery and upgraded production lines. A new Joint Steel Action Fund has five-year commitments of $3.55 billion from Ottawa and $1.67 billion from Ontario.

Ottawa also commits up to $1 billion over three years for roads in the Ring of Fire, a critical-minerals region in Northern Ontario.

Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office, the province’s budget watchdog, estimated that US tariffs would cost the province 119,200 jobs in 2026, compared with no tariffs.

A joint federal-provincial task force will oversee the auto measures.

Toronto’s unemployment rate, a three-month average for the city and its suburbs, was 6.9 per cent in September, down from 8.8 per cent a year earlier. Ontario’s was 6.9 per cent; Canada’s was 6.5 per cent.

Sources: Prime Minister of Canada · Innovation, Science and Economic Development · Financial Accountability Office of Ontario · Statistics Canada