Jack Ewing, The New York Times Jan 24, 2026 Flavio Volpe, president of the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said that the deal exposes the industry to Chinese manufacturers that sell at artificially low prices made possible by government subsidies. “Chinese cars are cheaper for a reason,” he said. “All of those reasons are available only to the Chinese.” Read here (Paywalled)

Josh Rubin, Toronto Star Jan 23, 2026 This article shares concerns following PM Carney’s Davos speech that it will be a difficult to find alternatives to trade with the U.S. as many industries rely heavily on this relationship. The bedrock assumptions of the automotive industry and the Canadian economy, for most of the last century are simply no longer a reality, said Flavio Volpe, President and CEO of the APMA. What was once a beacon of free trade and an open economic model,

Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star Jan 21, 2026 “Making that concession in this moment makes the entire Canadian auto sector on shakier ground,” Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said at Ford’s news conference. “We gave carefree access to about three per cent of the Canadian home market to importers who will not have to have any Canadian content in them,” said Volpe. Read here

Gabriel Friedman, Financial Post Jan 21, 2026 “You cannot have a system where you’re creating value for the Chinese state through EV credits,” Flavio Volpe, president of the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said. “We have to make our investments and protect them before we take on the Chinese, who don’t have profit as a key metric,” Volpe said. “I’m glad we didn’t do what they wanted and drop the tariff altogether, but I’m not happy about it. It’s a conces

Joshua Freeman, BNN Bloomberg Jan 21, 2026 Reporting on Premier Ford’s news conference, APMA President Flavio Volpe noted that 50,000 vehicles amounts to a full production shift at an auto plant and warned that “those jobs don’t exist comfortably in this new world.” Read here

Siobhan Morris, CTV News Jan 20, 2026 Reporting on the reactions to this agreement from auto plant workers to industry and government stakeholders. APMA President Flavio Volpe comments that the move is more bad news than good for Canadian auto. (Flavio Volpe appears @ 22:38) Watch here

Jill Bennett, The Jill Bennett Show | CKNW 730 Jan 16, 2026 APMA President Flavio Volpe criticized the deal from an automotive industry perspective, saying he is not satisfied with its current structure and wants Chinese automakers to manufacture in Canada. While he supports allowing a modest import quota as a temporary measure, Volpe stressed that “we should sunset the quota” once local production is established. He underscored the need to preserve advanced manufacturing cap

Cristina Howorun, The Big Story | City News Jan 19, 2026 APMA President Flavio Volpe discusses the implications this deal could have on the EV market, the 90,000 jobs in the auto sector and tariff and trade negotiations with the U.S. He warns that a mercurial Trump could change his ambivalence on this deal, “As we know, as will pass over this next week or so, [Trump] may revisit this.” Listen here

Josh Rubin and Estella Ren, Toronto Star Jan 17, 2026 APMA President Flavio Volpe said the deal undercuts a key sector in this country’s high tech manufacturing industry. “It’s a concession by definition,” said Volpe. “There are hard numbers on what they’re going to be allowed to bring in, but there are no hard details on local manufacturing,” said Volpe. “We should be confident enough that if the Chinese don’t bring the benefits they say they will, that we’ll walk away from

David Cochrane, Power & Politics | CBC News Jan 16, 2026 In a broadcast interview, APMA President Flavio Volpe said Canada’s limited allowance of Chinese EV imports represents a $2.5-billion market concession with no Canadian content, made to relieve pressure on other sectors amid U.S. tariffs. “We’ve given them a beachhead now… and we’re going to keep the prime minister and his team to their word that if there are no investments at the three-year review, we’re well within ou

Irene Galea, The Globe and Mail Jan 16, 2026 APMA President Flavio Volpe said the deal risks undermining Canadian jobs. While the 49,000 cap represents just 3 per cent of total annual auto sales in Canada, it also represents a full shift in an assembly plant for 1,000 employees and several thousand more in the supply chain, he said. “Every sale made guaranteed to an export source is a sale that doesn’t include Canadian content,” he said. Read here

Merella Fernandez, BNN Bloomberg Jan 16, 2026 APMA President Flavio Volpe joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the outlook and future of Canada's auto sector. “…we paid a price here…we have to remain vigilant that this doesn't become a permanent foothold that expands through the market like it did in Europe and put all those local manufacturers on the back foot.” Watch here

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

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

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

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

Ben Mulroney, The Ben Mulroney Show | Global News Jan 9, 2026 In the interview, APMA President Flavio Volpe argues that Canada’s EV sales mandate is misaligned with market reality and risks undermining domestic auto production and jobs. He also cautions that admitting Chinese EVs without strict local-content rules would undermine Canadian jobs and distort the market. “The reason why the Chinese manufacturers are so successful is that they suppress the costs and flood markets