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About the Authors
Greig Mordue, Associate Professor, McMaster University

Dr. Mordue is an associate professor at McMaster’s W Booth School.

Before joining McMaster, Dr. Mordue was General Manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) responsible for Corporate Planning and External Affairs. During his time at Toyota he held a range of responsibilities related to Government Relations, Human Resources and Strategic Planning. Prior to joining Toyota, he worked as a Special Assistant to the Treasurer of Ontario and Ontario Minister of Finance, the Ontario Minister of Financial Institutions and the Ontario Leader of the Official Opposition. He is also a former municipal councillor.

Dr. Mordue holds a B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University, a B Comm. from the University of Windsor, an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland and a PhD in Management from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

James Meadowcroft, Transition Pathway Principal, The Transition Accelerator

James Meadowcroft, PhD, is a professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University where he has held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Governance for Sustainable Development. He has written widely on environmental politics and policy, democratic participation and deliberative democracy, national sustainable development strategies and socio-technical transitions. Recent work focuses on energy and the transition to a low-carbon society and includes publications on carbon capture and storage (CCS), smart grids, the development of Ontario’s electricity system, the politics of socio-technical transitions and negative carbon emissions.

Assembling Canada’s Auto Sector: Lessons from a century of industrial policy

Greig Mordue, James Meadowcroft

April 23, 2026

Canada’s automotive industry stands at a critical juncture. Heightened global competition, rapid technological transformation, and the shifting geography of production networks are challenging the country’s established capabilities and revealing longstanding structural weaknesses.

If the Canadian automotive industry is at its core a policy-constructed achievement, understanding its history is essential for navigating the current period of industrial transition. Through examining the conditions under which past policy tools were deployed and assessing their outcomes, this report aims to inform practical industrial policy decisions by identifying the opportunities available to Canada and highlighting the risks those strategies entail.

About the Authors
Greig Mordue, Associate Professor, McMaster University

Dr. Mordue is an associate professor at McMaster’s W Booth School.

Before joining McMaster, Dr. Mordue was General Manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) responsible for Corporate Planning and External Affairs. During his time at Toyota he held a range of responsibilities related to Government Relations, Human Resources and Strategic Planning. Prior to joining Toyota, he worked as a Special Assistant to the Treasurer of Ontario and Ontario Minister of Finance, the Ontario Minister of Financial Institutions and the Ontario Leader of the Official Opposition. He is also a former municipal councillor.

Dr. Mordue holds a B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University, a B Comm. from the University of Windsor, an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland and a PhD in Management from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

James Meadowcroft, Transition Pathway Principal, The Transition Accelerator

James Meadowcroft, PhD, is a professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University where he has held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Governance for Sustainable Development. He has written widely on environmental politics and policy, democratic participation and deliberative democracy, national sustainable development strategies and socio-technical transitions. Recent work focuses on energy and the transition to a low-carbon society and includes publications on carbon capture and storage (CCS), smart grids, the development of Ontario’s electricity system, the politics of socio-technical transitions and negative carbon emissions.

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