Prime Minister Mark Carney says we are in a “very intense phase” in tariff negotiations with the United States.

One of the hardest hit has been the auto sector, which has been deeply impacted by punishing tariffs from the U.S..

Dr. Tom Cooper, a professor of business strategy at Memorial University, says the auto sector is worth about $84-billion and a small 5 per cent tariff could move operations to the south of the border.

Cooper says moving sectors out of Canada will have big ripple effects for the rest of the economy.

“What I would suggest is our money better spent in terms of modernizing our industrial base around the manufacture of automobiles to focus on EVs, batteries, critical minerals, etc,” he told the Tim Powers Show on VOCM.

“If we do invest, we want to invest in industries, in the part of the industry that’s going to be here in 15-20 years. And it’s not just making cheap compasses, it’s also making sure that those EVs and the vehicles of the future are being produced here in Canada. “