Automotive Jobs in Canada – Since 2001, more than 53,000 jobs have been lost

The automotive industry’s contributions to the Canadian economy have declined significantly compared to the years between the late 1990s and mid-2000s when automotive manufacturing accounted for eleven per cent of total manufacturing GDP (Sweeney, 2013). While employment in the automotive industry has decreased since 2000, and production capacity in several segments has declined, the industry is still an important site for employment in Canada, representing 7.7 percent of the country’s total manufacturing jobs in 2012 (Statistics Canada, 2013). Notably, the majority of employment in Canada’s automotive industry represents full-time, generally well-paying jobs.

This report assesses the importance of the automotive industry in supporting workers and communities in Canada. Evidence suggests that automotive manufacturing is integral to sustaining healthy communities and the economic prosperity of families, particularly in Ontario. To support this claim, the report presents results from a case study of the Windsor Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).1 Windsor has long been recognized as the prototypical automotive manufacturing city-region in Canada, and best illustrates the effects of the decline of the Canadian automotive sector on the standard of living within automotive-dependent communities in Canada. In addition to the Windsor case study, the report discusses the role that unions play in supporting well-paying automotive manufacturing jobs in Ontario and the additional benefits that a strong automotive industry brings to the national economy.

Over 90 percent of automotive manufacturing jobs in Canada are located in Ontario. Since 2001, more than 53,000 automotive jobs have been lost in Canada (Figure 1), 43,000 of which have disappeared from Ontario alone. Table 1 shows the decline in automotive industry employment and number of jobs lost in Canada and Ontario since 2001. The decline in automotive parts manufacturing has been more severe than in assembly over this time. While employment in Canada’s automotive industry is still well below pre-2008 crisis levels, a modest recovery in assembly and parts jobs has occurred since 2009.