New measures to protect, build, and transform Canadian strategic industries

The global trade landscape is rapidly changing as the United States fundamentally transforms all of its trading relationships. The effect is profound – displacing workers, disrupting supply chains, forcing companies to rethink where they source their materials and products, and causing uncertainty that is curbing investment. Canada has the best deal of any U.S. trading partner – yet we cannot rely on our most important trade relationship as we once did.

“We cannot control what other nations do,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “We can control what we give ourselves – what we build for ourselves. Canada is building the strongest economy in the G7, one that is less reliant on foreign powers and more resilient in the face of global shocks. In the face of uncertainty around the world, we are ensuring that our workers and businesses will prosper by building Canada’s strength at home.”

Canada’s government is building a new industrial strategy to help meet this moment. This will transform our economy – from one of reliance on specific trade partners to one that is more resilient to global shocks, built on the solid foundation of strong Canadian industries, and bolstered by diverse international trade partners.

The prime minister has announced a series of new, strategic measures for workers and businesses in those sectors most impacted by U.S. tariffs and trade disruptions. These initiatives will help workers acquire new skills and businesses retool their production and diversify their products, while spurring more domestic demand for Canadian businesses.

Building on previously announced measures to help transform the Canadian steel and softwood lumber industries, the following new initiatives were announced today:

• A strong workforce: The government will introduce a new reskilling package for up to 50,000 workers, make Employment Insurance more flexible and with extended benefits, and launch a new digital jobs and training platform with private-sector partners to connect Canadians more quickly to careers.
• A new Strategic Response Fund: The government will invest $5 billion through a new fund with flexible terms to help firms in all sectors impacted by tariffs adapt, diversify, and grow, with support provided to industries by new Workforce Alliances to align training and workforce needs.
• A new Buy Canadian Policy: The government will introduce a new policy to ensure the federal government buys from Canadian suppliers, require local content when domestic suppliers are unavailable, extend this approach to all federal funding streams and Crown corporations, and provide a roadmap for provinces and municipalities to apply similar standards to their own procurement.
• Immediate liquidity relief: The government will expand Business Development Bank of Canada loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to $5 million, provide more flexible financing through the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility, and give the auto sector flexibility by waiving 2026 model year vehicles from Electric Vehicle Availability Standard requirements and by launching an immediate 60-day review to reduce costs.
• Assisting Canada’s canola and agriculture producers: The government will introduce a new biofuel production incentive, with over $370 million for domestic producers to address immediate competitiveness challenges, amend Clean Fuel Regulations to support the domestic biofuels industry, temporarily increase the Advance Payments Program interest-free limit to $500,000 for canola advances, and provide increased funding for the AgriMarketing Program to support diversification into new markets of agricultural products.
• Regional Tariff Response Initiative: The government will expand support to SMEs to $1 billion over three years, with flexible terms, and increase new non-repayable contributions to eligible businesses impacted by tariffs across all affected sectors, including agricultural and seafood.

The full list of measures is available here.

These new measures will help give industries and workers the tools they need to build a better future – one where Canada’s economy is less reliant on a single trading partner, built on the solid foundation of a strong Canadian market, robust Canadian demand, and diverse trade partnerships.

To drive that transformation, the government has launched the Major Projects Office to fast-track nation-building projects, and will soon launch Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, Canada’s new Trade Diversification Strategy, and Build Canada Homes, a government entity that will help double the pace of construction over the next decade.