Darren Major, CBC News Jan 16, 2026 As Canada-China talks produced an agreement, this report juxtaposes two different reactions from the auto and agricultural industries. President of the APMA, Flavio Volpe, said he wants to see some "guardrails" on the China deal. "Three-year review. Hard cap on those imports. And, of course, any of those vehicles have to meet Canadian safety standards," Volpe said. Read here

Tim Powers, The Vassy Kapelos Show Jan 16, 2026 Head of the APMA, Flavio Volpe, gives his reaction to the Canada-China deal. He said Canada knowingly gave up a small share of its auto market to relieve pressure on other sectors but warned the decision carries real risk for domestic manufacturers. Volpe stressed the need for vigilance on promised Chinese investments and argued that U.S. tariffs, not Beijing, remain the most urgent threat to Canada’s auto industry. “We’ve given

Antoine Trépanier and Joël-Denis Bellavance, La Presse Jan 16, 2026 [Original Article in French] For his part, APMA President Flavio Volpe, said he did not want to open the door to Chinese electric cars. “But we're here,” he said. He said he hoped Ottawa would require Chinese cars to be built in Canada. Read here

Mathieu Dion, Laura Kane, and Melissa Shin, Bloomberg Jan 16, 2026 Canada must ensure China delivers on its commitments, warned APMA President Flavio Volpe. Quoting Volpe’s CBC interview on the matter, “the vigilance starts now,” he said and adding that, “an agreement in principle is different that a negotiated trade agreement that has supporting legislation. There are things that we are expecting in return." Read here

David Wiechnik, Western Standard Jan 16, 2026 Quoting APMA President Flavio Volpe’s statement on X: “China demanded we remove EV tariffs,” Volpe said on X. “For people who ask, ‘Why not, what’s the big deal?’ ask them why the Chinese think it’s a big deal. “Today is about asking the sectors that got relief from Chinese threats to talk about their upside. I will continue to warn about vigilance.” Read here

Greg Layson, Automotive News Canada Jan 16, 2026 Flavio Volpe, head of the APMA, said that any Transport certification requirements for Chinese EVs “must immediately include filters on cybersecurity.” He said Chinese hardware and software “are of a real concern to regulators around the world.” And that he would expect Polestar and Tesla to be the first automakers to take advantage of the new deal. They had previously imported models from China, before Canada implemented a 100

Zi-Ann Lum and Nick Taylor-Vaisy, Politico Jan 15, 2026 POLITICO notes Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing to advance Canada-China economic ties, while in Toronto, Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc held CUSMA consultations where APMA President Flavio Volpe was among industry leaders in attendance. Read here

Josh Rubin, Toronto Star Jan 15, 2026 Donald Trump says Americans “don’t need” Canadian products, and that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade is irrelevant. APMA President Flavio Volpe argues that the USMCA is not “irrelevant” citing the rise of the proportion of U.S. content in Canadian-made vehicles from 38 percent to around 50 between 2018 and 2024; and, said “It demonstrated that CUSMA’s automotive rules of origin are increasing American content per vehicle rather

Darius Snickus, Canadian National observer Jan 15, 2026 “The world is changing at an unprecedented pace, the EV [sector] included,” said APMA President Flavio Volpe in relation to Carney’s visit to China. “Concessions or agreements that Canada is considering with the former must be carefully weighed against risk to the latter,” said Volpe referring to China and the U.S. respectively.  Read here

Bill Carroll, The Morning Rush | 580 CFRA Jan 14, 2026 In a radio interview APMA President Flavio Volpe discusses Trump’s dismissal of the Canadian automotive industry and if getting Chinese EVs is the direction to move in. He argued that while trust in Washington has weakened and Beijing remains strategically hostile, Canada cannot replace North American trade with China. Volpe cautioned “There is no upside from Beijing that could cancel the downside of having the USMCA coll

Zi-Ann Lum, Politico Jan 14, 2026 “We’ve got to be very careful in what we do and how it’s perceived in Washington and how it’s described by the Chinese,” Flavio Volpe, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president, told Playbook. Read here

Abigail Bimman, CTV National News Jan 13, 2026 Reporting on Canada’s top priorities ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to China and the potential challenges that could arise. APMA PresidentFlavio Volpe said “I do expect that the Prime Minister isn’t going there just to exchange niceties…if Washington reacts to something we do in Beijing that makes permanent the barriers for Canadian sales to the U.S., there is that Beijing could offer us that could make up the differe

Carolyn Jarvis, CTV News Jan 13, 2026 APMA President Flavio Volpe on possible flexibility around the PM's trip to China, talks with Premier Ford about concessions for EV tariffs, and Trump’s claim that cars don’t need to be made in Canada. Watch here

Adam Carter, CBC News Jan 13, 2026 As PM Carney heads to China for a trade mission, Premier Ford is vocal about his stance to keep tariffs on Chinese EVs to protect Ontario’s auto industry and jobs. APMA President Flavio Volpe quoted saying “If they’re willing to invest here and then buy Canadian supplies and raw materials and employ Canadian workers, well then they become Canadian cars too,” Volpe said. Read here

Robert Benzie and Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star Jan 13, 2026 Flavio Volpe, head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said talks with the Chinese must be handled with “extreme caution.” “Should Canada do its best to move tariffs on agricultural goods? Yes. But we need to be careful about how we invite people in, and any time we invite anybody to assemble here, they absolutely need to try to meet the highest local content standard that we have,” said Volpe. Read

Kelly Taylor, Automotive News Canada Jan 13, 2025 Despite the public-facing rhetoric, there seems to be momentum building behind the scenes to make a deal, said Flavio Volpe, president of the APMA. He predicts a renewal of the agreement, likely with tighter country-of-origin rules tilting in favour of American interests. “All of those conversations with U.S. officials continue to be positive, culminating with the USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) putting APMA on the list of wi

Patty Handysides, The Shift with Patty Handysides | AM 800 CKLW Jan 13, 2026 The president of the APMA, Flavio Volpe, said Canada’s EV tariffs are a necessary tool to protect billions in domestic auto investment, arguing they were designed to prevent Chinese manufacturers from flooding the market while Canada’s electrification strategy takes hold. He noted China’s explicit linkage of agricultural retaliation to EV tariffs underscores the stakes and the pressure facing federal

Staff Writer, AutoShow.ca Jan 14, 2025 At the Canadian International AutoShow Media Day on February 12, 2026, the APMA will unveil Project Arrow Borealis, the global debut of the second prototype in the Project Arrow series, alongside Project Arrow Vector, the next evolution of the program’s technology platform. “This is an exciting milestone for Canadian automotive innovation,” said Flavio Volpe, President of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. “Project Arrow co

Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star, Jan 12, 2026 Flavio Volpe, head of the Canadian Auto Parts Manufacturers, said any conversation with the Chinese has to be approached with “extreme caution.” “The world has changed at an incredible pace since we put in those tariffs, and so has the EV world. The two things that haven’t changed is that Chinese players are state-owned and that this industry is built, the Canadian industry, is built to serve the American market,” he said. Read her

Erica Johnson, The National | CBC News Jan 10, 2026 Reporting about Prime Minister Carney’s upcoming trip to China and its significance for Canadian industries and trade. “The Chinese have successfully put Western jobs against central Canadian jobs and the Prime Minister of Canada has an unenviable job of striking that balance,” said APMA President Flavio Volpe. (Flavio appears @ 16:19) Watch here