Manufacturing industry says there are opportunities, but room for improvement in new federal budget

CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 8:19 PM EST | Last Updated: November 6

New dollars for defence and infrastructure are bully quality for manufacturers, manufacture representatives say, though determination is inactive country for improvements to assistance an manufacture pummeled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Louis Jahn is the president of the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association, and president of Jahn Engineering successful Windsor, Ont.

He says helium doesn’t spot overmuch successful the fund for the automotive sector, but determination are different opportunities. 

"We're decidedly motivated successful the country of vigor and defence and the government, done this budget, is giving america intermission to accidental 'OK, there's a batch of wealth being spent there, however tin we enactment successful that?,’” helium said. 

He said details are the key, and helium wants Canadian procurement requirements. 

“We’ve  seen excessively galore times erstwhile determination are ample projects taking spot and past the contracts are fixed to a institution oregon steadfast successful South Korea oregon Germany oregon [wherever],” said Jahn. 

• Windsor, Ont., autoworkers accidental they consciousness betrayed by Trump's tariffs

• New tariffs could beryllium devastating for Windsor, car manufacture person says

Jahn said helium was looking for that specifically wrong defence spending, a ample spending class successful the budget. 

The budget, presented by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne connected Tuesday, lays retired an $81 cardinal backing bundle for the Canadian Armed Forces, including a buy-Canadian procurement program. It besides includes a $51-billion infrastructure programme and $6.6 cardinal implicit 5 years for the defence industry, including wealth to make the Defence Investment Agency, which was precocious announced.

The fund also  includes measures to assistance businesses constitute down superior investments, the "productivity super-deduction," truthful businesses tin constitute disconnected superior investments wrong the archetypal year, arsenic a mode to assistance velocity up investment. There are besides taxation incentives for probe and development.

The national Liberals request conscionable 2 much votes from extracurricular their caucus to walk the budget, aft erstwhile Conservative MP Chris d'Entremont crossed the level to articulation the Liberals.

Flavio Volpe is caput of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. He said portion determination is accidental to pivot to different sectors, it’s constricted for businesses that enactment successful automotive. 

“We person to beryllium clear, defence volumes are overmuch smaller than automotive volumes,” helium said. “So we each marque wealth based connected delivering hundreds of thousands of thing a year, truthful if it's conscionable thousands of something, that's a constricted opportunity."

Goldy Hyder is the president of the Business Council of Canada. Some of the taxation measures successful this fund were really introduced nether Carney’s predecessor and extended, which helium said is bully to spot — but much is needed. 

“But look, that's not transformational. If we had truly gone big, gone bold, had the governmental courageousness to deliberation otherwise astir what it takes to pull capital, I deliberation we would person done overmuch more,” Hyder said.

“Frankly, I perceive acold much astir regulations and the challenges of investing successful Canada."

• Carney's fund needs 2 much votes. Here's the section backing that could get it passed

• Job cuts successful fund would deed hard, accidental national nationalist work unions

In Oro-Medonte, northbound of Barrie, Ont., David Yeaman is the proprietor of Molded Precision Components, which works chiefly successful the automotive industry. 

He says from a manufacturing perspective, helium sees immoderate positives successful the budget. 

“The accelerated depreciation of superior instrumentality … is truly going to assistance america for reinvestments successful caller instrumentality which is needed close present specifically, investing successful caller instrumentality has been peculiarly much hard nether the existent circumstances," helium said.

"But much specifically, a nonstop simplification successful firm taxes would beryllium ... adjuvant for reinvestment."

Carrie McEachran is the CEO of the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce successful Sarnia, Ont., a cardinal manufacturing and chemic hub successful southwestern Ontario.

Overall, the enclosure is optimistic astir what's successful the budget.

"What we're speechmaking astir ... infrastructure and trade, being a borderline municipality and gateway to the U.S. and planetary markets, this has the large imaginable to fortify our relation arsenic that gateway," she said.