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General Motors Canada has thrown the City of Oshawa a bone after layoffs in January 2026 left nearly 1,200 Canadians without jobs. The $65mn investment will be used to usher in GM’s new line of full-cab pickup trucks, which will be produced at the newly lightened Oshawa plant. The investment is an extension of GM’s initial investment of $280mn announced in 2023. Since 2020, GM has invested $1.5bn in its Oshawa plant, but experts call the most recent addition a ‘relatively small’ investment. The City of Oshawa has been disproportionately affected by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, specifically those levied against the Canadian steel industry.

Oshawa plant layoffs

In January 2026, General Motors announced it would be laying off nearly 1,200 autoworkers at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario. In 2024, GM’s Oshawa car assembly plant housed more than 4,00 workers – 3,600 hourly workers and more than 400 salaried staff members. By laying off more than a quarter of its hourly staff, the plant has been hamstrung by Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and auto parts. GM’s $63mn investment represents a commitment to shifting the Oshawa assembly plant to focus on producing GM’s new line of full-size gas pickups. The Oshawa assembly plant is the only GM factory in North America currently producing the light-duty and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pickups on the same line.  

MP Jamil Jivani

The Member of Parliament for Oshawa is Jamil Jivani, a close friend of US Vice President JD Vance. Jivani recently went on what politicians are calling an anti-Canadian tirade. In an interview with American far-right outlet Breitbart, Jivani claimed that Canadian’s needed to stop having an ‘anti-American hissy fit’ in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs. Jivani coupled the comments with an unofficial trip to the US where he met with his buddy JD, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and automotive manufacturer General Motors. Some painted the move as posturing, others as Jivani’s attempt to leverage his relationship with Vance to aid his riding.

New investment

General Motors announced the investment in a press release posted to the company’s news page. The release reinforced that Oshawa will have a key role in GM’s future, and that the plant could become central to the company’s operation. After laying off more than 1,000 workers, GM’s press release painted the new investment as an opportunity for Oshawa. GM claimed the Oshawa assembly plant will be ‘critical’ to General Motors as a company, and the press release claimed that Oshawa will be critical for years to come. Unifor National President Lana Payne has heavily criticized General Motors for its layoffs, calling them a betrayal of trust and accusing the company of bowing to Donald Trump’s aggressive right-wing policies.

Payne was quoted as saying, “General Motors has made a clear decision to cave to Donald Trump rather than stand up for its loyal Canadian workforce”.

Canadian politicians react

A slew of Canadian politicians from either side of the aisle have commented on either the mass layoffs or the additional investment from GM. Industry Minister Melanie Joly called the layoffs ‘unacceptable’. Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles used the layoffs to promote platform, claiming that they were proof of Ontario’s need for a more comprehensive provincial auto strategy. Stiles criticized Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s handling of the auto sector as a whole. On his part, Premier Ford got right to business, claiming that Ontario has a plan to ensure that laid-off workers have other opportunities for employment. Ford called the layoffs ‘disappointing’ and used the $63mn investment as an opportunity to speak out against the newly repealed EV mandate.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has not commented on the new investment, and with the Provincial Liberals without a commandant at its helm, the Liberal Party of Canada has stayed relatively silent. Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter did make multiple statements, though, both condemning Gm’s actions and ensuring the laid-off employees that the City of Oshawa will do everything in its power to help the affected residents pivot to new employment. Carter did acknowledge that GM has brought thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of income to Oshawa, but stressed the two parties’ close relationship was built on trust and reliability.

The fear that keeps Pierre Poilievre lying awake at night is coming closer to reality: a Liberal majority. On February 18, 2026, MP Matt Jeneroux announced he would be crossing the floor to join Mark Carney and the Liberal caucus, making him the third Conservative so far during Mark Carney’s term to turn their back on Pierre Poilievre and join the Liberals. Jeneroux’s move gets Mark Carney one step closer to fulfilling Poilievre’s nightmare and gaining a majority government in the House of Commons. With Jeneroux’s joining of the Liberals, Carney is now only one seat shy of a majority government – the first since Trudeau’s Liberals in 2015. MP Jeneroux was appointed as special adviser on economic and security partnerships.

Jeneroux changes his mind

According to Jeneroux, the MP’s conversion to the Liberal Party was triggered by Mark Carney’s comments in Davos. In November 2025, MP Jeneroux announced he would resign from Parliament after Mark Carney released his 2026 budget. After Carney’s budget was released, fellow Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor and joined the Liberals, citing the culture of the Conservative Party as the issue. According to d’Entremont, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative caucus runs like a frat house, not a political party.

According to d’Entremont, House Leader Andrew Scheer and whip Chris Warkentin nearly pushed over one of his staffers and berated him in his own office.

Jeneroux’s choice of Carney over unemployment adds an interesting layer to his political career. Jeneroux has long been an example of the moderate Conservative. He leaned away from Poilievre and the Trucker Convoy, and his riding in Edmonton has long been a close split between Liberals and Conservatives. Jeneroux is appealing to the moderates, leaning just far enough right to catch anyone disenfranchised with Pierre ‘mini-Trump’ Poilievre, while wearing enough red colours to grab the left’s attention. Jeneroux claims that Carney’s message of a National unity crisis struck a chord and inspired him to retake his helm as his constituents’ champion. It is entirely possible, though, that Jeneroux simply sees the Liberal Party as a better career opportunity, and he took it.

Who is Matt Jeneroux

The incumbent MP of Edmonton-Riverbend, Matt Jeneroux, was first elected to the Provincial riding of Edmonton-South West in 2012. After three years, Jeneroux lost the 2015 Alberta primary and pivoted to run as MP of Edmonton-Riverbend. Jeneroux was elected in the riding in 2015 by 12-and-a-half points. Jeneroux has been elected for four straight terms since 2015, but his margin of victory has consistently shrunk. In 2025, Jeneroux won his election by just 3,000 votes, a far cry from the nearly 12,000 vote swing he had in 2015. Jeneroux received fewer votes in 2025 than in 2019, and he saw just a 4% rise in voting share compared to his opponents’ 19% increase.

Playing the odds

When breaking down Jeneroux’s electoral statistics over his last three elections and cross-referencing them with the National Conservative Party’s last nine months of disaster, it looks like Jeneroux has played his hand excellently. With falling Conservative numbers in his riding, and a history of moderate politics, Jeneroux knows he can win over Liberal voters while pulling moderates from the right. With polls predicting Edmonton-Riverbend to be completely split before Jeneroux’s defection, it seems like Jeneroux is in a prime position to sweep his upcoming election in 2029.

Conservative world reacts

Unsurprisingly, the Conservative caucus has reacted negatively to Jeneroux’s defection. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre had harsh words for the Alberta MP. Poilievre called Jeneroux’s decision a betrayal of the people of Edmonton-Rovernend (remember the split statistics from earlier) who had voted for him. According to Poilievre, Jeneroux’s riding voted for affordable food and homes, safe streets, and a strong resource sector, all areas Poilievre clearly thinks Carney’s government has failed. Poilievre went on to warn Canadians about Mark Carney’s soon-to-be majority. Pierre claimed that Mark Carney is about to have the majority government that Canadians denied him in 2025, and he’s going to do it with ‘shady backroom deals’.

British Columbia MP Frank Caputo and Ontario MP Andrew Lawton both whined on the platform formally known as Twitter. Caputo leaned into the melodrama, implying that Jeneroux would lose sleep over his broken character. Caputo cried, ‘What do we have beyond our integrity?’ like a Shakespearean lover before claiming he would continue to fight for ‘his people’ amongst this betrayal. Lawton chose a more direct approach, calling out all three Conservatives who’ve crossed the floor this term. Lawton claimed the trio were making decisions based on power rather than their beliefs. While Lawton may be completely right, he might not want to start talking about politicians selling themselves out for power if he wants to stay in his coworkers’ good graces.

Right or wrong move

Since 1970, crossing the aisle has proved more detrimental than advantageous for MPs, but their success is nearly always reliant on one thing: whether voters buy the reason. It’s easy to look at Jeneroux’s decision as wholly opportunistic. He was facing falling numbers, and a Party seemingly in nosedive after four years of polling domination. Jeneroux is playing the moderate and hoping to scrape votes from both parties. It’s also easy to look at the situation and buy what Jeneroux is selling. Canada is in a trade war started by its greatest ally, an ally speeding directly into the arms of techno-fascism a-là George Orwell. Carney’s speech at Davos was powerful and was praised internationally. Canadian politicians do need to start looking past party lines and start working together to fight for Canada. House infighting needs to end, and solutions democracy needs to take over. Mark Carney hinted on February 18 that more Conservatives would be defecting, and if so, he would get his majority. Sleep well Pierre, sleep well.