Honda confirms no plans to reduce Canadian auto production despite tariffs

Honda Canada said Tuesday it is not considering changes to its Canadian automotive production, refuting a news report saying it was looking to shift some production to the United States.

Japan's Nikkei financial newspaper reported earlier Tuesday that Honda is looking to shift enough Canadian CR-V and Civic production to the U.S. so that it can meet 90 per cent of U.S. sales with vehicles produced there, up from its current level of about 70 per cent.

Honda Canada is constantly looking at various contingency plans but it intends to maintain current levels of Canadian production, said spokesman Ken Chiu.

"We can confirm that our Canadian manufacturing facility in Alliston, Ont., will operate at full capacity for the foreseeable future and no changes are being considered at this time."

Honda's comments confirm what government officials had said earlier in the day: that no changes are in the works for the Honda operations, which employ around 4,200 people and produced about 375,000 CR-V and Civic vehicles in 2023.

The company also produces the same models in the U.S., with the Nikkei report saying the company was looking to hire more workers and add shifts to the U.S. operations. Honda said it couldn't comment specifically on what was in the report.

Honda said its flexible manufacturing approach allows it to quickly adapt to various market conditions, including production shifts to specific models built at each facility, bound for various regions and potentially new markets, depending on customer demand.

"Canadian production will remain at full capacity thanks to domestic sales, which are up nine per cent in the first quarter of this year," said Chiu.

Federal Industry Minister Anita Anand said earlier in the day that Honda had confirmed it had no production changes under consideration and that she would be meeting with the head of Honda Canada later Tuesday. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier that the head of Honda Canada told him the report is inaccurate. Ford and his office say Honda told them the company does want to increase production in the U.S., but not at the expense of Canadian production.

The threat of losing Canadian production comes after the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all imported vehicles on April 3, including ones produced in Canada despite the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade deal, significantly raising costs for all importers.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a campaign stop Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff are an attempt to "pull apart" the integration of North America's auto industry.

“We are seeing some of the impacts in the short term of that with layoffs for some of our automakers, potential shifts in production."

Carney said he doesn't think the Trump administration is taking into account how integrated the industry is and that it will likely have to make permanent the currently temporary tariff exemption on auto parts from Canada.

In an effort to lessen the hit to the auto sector in Canada, the federal government on Tuesday announced that producers that maintain their production levels in Canada would be able to import a certain number of U.S. assembled vehicles into Canada free of tariff countermeasures.

The move comes as Mazda confirmed it was halting production of Canada-bound CX-50 vehicles at its Alabama plant because they're subject to Canada's counter-tariffs.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre condemned Donald Trump’s “unfair targeting of Canada” while saying that Canada's counter-tariffs should remain in place.

Speaking outside a Montreal hospital, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that Canada should block auto companies such as Honda from removing infrastructure from Canada that public money helped pay for. 

He also said Canada should implement rules preventing automakers from selling vehicles in Canada if they don't have a manufacturing presence here.

"There's over 40 million Canadians. We have a growing population because of our immigration policies. So this is a desirable market for auto companies to sell. If you're going to sell a car in Canada, you have to have a footprint in Canada. Meaning you have make cars here or you have jobs here," Singh said.

Last year, Honda announced a $15-billion commitment to its Canadian operations to create an electric vehicle supply chain in Ontario. The plans, supported by up to $5 billion in public funds, include building an electric vehicle battery plant next to its existing Alliston plant. 

— With files from Allison Jones, Liam Casey, Kyle Duggan, Nick Murray and David Baxter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025.