As it prepares to announce the target company for its current round of bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers, the Unifor union released a new independent study that shows the “massive” economic impact of the automakers in Canada.
“Unifor has made investment in Canada the top priority of these negotiations, and this study shows how important investment is to the economic well-being of the entire country,” said Unifor national president Jerry Dias.
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The study by Robin Somerville, director of the Centre for Spatial Economics and president of Quantitative Economic Decisions, assesses the economic benefits of the automakers by examining what would happen if they were to leave Canada.
In the short term, the study found that Canada’s gross domestic product would fall by up to C$26bn, with a loss of up to 150,000 jobs and a decline in government revenues of up to $4.7bn per year. Longer term, Ontario’s economy would be permanently reduced by up to $21bn and 38,000 jobs, with government revenues permanently cut by up to $3.9bn per year.
“It’s important that the broader public and policy makers understand what’s at stake,” said Dias.
