New association focused on US trade, tariffs
Toyota and Honda are reshaping how they speak for Canada’s auto manufacturing sector.
The two automakers have launched the Pacific Manufacturing Association of Canada (PMAC), a new organization that will advocate specifically for their Canadian production operations at a time when tariffs and trade policy are putting pressure on cross-border supply chains.
Together, Toyota and Honda now account for the majority of Canadian vehicle assembly after Detroit-based rivals scaled back domestic production. In 2025, Honda and Toyota produced more than 75 per cent of all vehicles manufactured in Canada, according to a press release announcing the new association.
The PMAC will exist alongside their continued membership in Global Automakers of Canada, but with a sharper lens on plant-level issues and long-term manufacturing strategy, the Canadian Press reported.
The tariff squeeze on Canadian plants
PMAC’s creation comes as Canada’s manufacturing sector faces tariffs from the United States that are disrupting long-established production networks built around relatively frictionless trade. Brendan Sweeney, the group’s chief executive, says that trade rules will sit at the top of the agenda. “Where we’re also going to be focused a lot is on trade, tariffs, CUSMA negotiations, conversations, whatever that looks like, because it’s really important to have tariff-free access to the U.S. market,” Sweeney told the Canadian Press.
That comment crystallizes the risk for Canadian auto employers: any prolonged period of elevated tariffs or uncertainty around the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) could prompt global headquarters to rethink how much of the company’s global production footprint sits north of the border. For HR executives, that risk translates directly into questions about future headcount, the location of new product mandates, skills investment and the viability of multi-year workforce plans.
Sweeney said he remains optimistic on the trade outlook because it is in all parties’ interest to preserve a competitive North American auto industry, but he also acknowledged the political and diplomatic complexity of working with the current Trump administration in Washington. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get there, and a lot of communication and collaboration with our government partners, with the global automakers, and with the other organizations in our world that are pulling in the same direction,” he told the Canadian Press.
Corporate planning tied to tariffs, EV incentives
For HR leaders inside and beyond the auto sector, the launch of a manufacturing-specific lobby group is a signal that Toyota and Honda expect the policy environment to be both volatile and central to their long-range planning. A dedicated organization focused on plants and production suggests that decisions about product allocation, capital spending and automation will be increasingly tied to how tariffs, EV incentives and local-content rules evolve over the next several years.
PMAC is expected to weigh in on tariff remissions, federal EV policy and the national automotive strategy, the Canadian Press reported. Those files will strongly influence where new EV and battery-related investments land, and by extension where future hiring in engineering, skilled trades and advanced manufacturing occurs.
While PMAC is narrowly focused on Toyota and Honda’s Canadian manufacturing footprint, the issues it is raising are relevant across advanced manufacturing. Any sector that depends on integrated North American supply chains — from aerospace to industrial equipment — faces similar exposure to tariffs and shifting trade rules.
