ADAMS: Doug Ford Needs to Get Out of His Own Way

Doug Ford recently logged onto X to warn Canadians about the menace of “cheap Chinese EVs.” That phrase alone tells you everything. Not “affordable.” Not “competitive.” Not “innovative.” Cheap. This is the language of a politician who has already chosen a side, and it isn't the side of Ontario consumers or workers.

This is the same premier who has spent years turning private companies into political punching bags whenever it suited his agenda. He lectures us about “scaring away investment.” Yet, his legacy is one of regulatory chaos, flip-flops, and a government that can't decide whether it believes in markets or backroom deals. The man who single-handedly made Ontario's economy an unpredictable disaster now wants to pose as the guardian of investor confidence?

Forgive me if I don't salute.

The phrase “cheap Chinese EVs” is doing a lot of dishonest work here. Cheap compared to what, exactly? Has Doug Ford personally tested these vehicles? Compared their safety records? Analyzed their value for money? Or is this just another slogan designed to scare voters who don't follow the details?

Affordable does not mean inferior. It means accessible. And accessibility is exactly what legacy automakers in Canada have refused to deliver.

Here's an important detail the Premier doesn't mention: electric vehicles under $30,000 are a market legacy North American automakers refuse to serve. Canadians are begging for affordable options, and the established players have chosen not to even attempt to provide them. So when foreign companies step in to fill that gap, suddenly it's an invasion? No, it's competition. And competition is what the free market is built on.

Another inconvenient fact: According to Yahoo Finance, Chinese EVs will account for roughly three percent of total sales in Canada as a result of Mark Carney's deal. Three percent. Yet Ford talks as if container ships are lining up in Vancouver to wipe out Oshawa tomorrow morning.

Details matter, and Ford is being deliberately dishonest.

Let me be clear as an Ontarian: we WANT choice. We WANT quality electric vehicles. We want the freedom to buy a car that costs less to fuel, less to maintain, and doesn’t chain us to the gas pump forever. An EV can save a household hundreds of dollars a year compared to gasoline-fuelled cars. That's real money for real families. That's what the future looks like, and I will not let the premier gaslight me into feeling guilty for wanting to pay LESS for a better product.

The Ford PC's have made a CHOICE not to invest seriously in that future. That is not my problem, and it shouldn't be yours either.

Instead of whining on social media about China, the premier should get his lazy ass on a plane to Beijing, Shenzhen, or Shanghai and invite those companies to build factories here. If Xiaomi's vehicles are good enough to scare him, they're good enough to create jobs in Brampton, Oshawa, and Ingersoll. A confident province attracts investment; a nervous, protectionist one drives it away.

Canada doesn't protect workers by fearing China for no good reason. We protect workers by making GOOD, QUALITY EVs that people actually want to buy. Affordable products don't “invade” markets; they expose where our own industries have grown lazy and complacent. If a few thousand imported cars can supposedly destroy the sector, then the sector was already on life support.

Tariffs won't save Ontario's auto industry. They never do. They are a politician's shortcut: a way to avoid hard reforms while pretending to be tough. What would help are investments in batteries, advanced manufacturing, and skilled trades; cutting red tape that slows new plants; and letting entrepreneurs innovate without a government thumb on the scale.

But Ford prefers theatre. He wraps himself in the maple leaf while defending a de-facto monopoly that keeps prices high and choices limited. That monopoly is terrible for consumers and terrible for workers. When companies don't have to compete, they don't innovate, and when they don't innovate, jobs eventually disappear anyway.

Look around the province. We have record unemployment in many communities. Young people can't afford cars or homes. Yet the premier's answer is to lecture us about loyalty to an outdated business model, while his own government brings in tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers for low-wage service jobs. Call Zoomers lazy, import more TFWs to staff Tim Hortons, and then tell us to be grateful for the status quo, that usually works out.

Ontarians deserve better than “Captain Canada” posturing on social media.

A real leader would admit that the auto industry is changing and position Ontario to win that change. He would welcome affordable EVs and he would push to build the next generation of vehicles here instead of sheltering the last generation from reality.

Doug Ford needs to get out of his own way and make our province worth investing in again. That means embracing competition, respecting consumer choice, and recognizing that the era of gas-guzzling protectionism is over. Ontarians are ready for the future even if the premier is not.

I will not apologize for wanting a vehicle that costs less to drive, pollutes less, and reflects the technology of the 21st century. I will not feel bad because politicians and legacy automakers refused to deliver what consumers asked for. And I certainly won't take economic lectures from a government that thinks an X rant is an industrial strategy.

The future of transportation is electric. The only question is whether Ontario will build it, or watch others do it while our politicians complain online.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Provincial Times or Left Lane Media Group. Read our Content Policy here.