Canada's automobile sector drove back into the federal election spotlight following reports from Japan that Honda is planning to move some of its production from Canada and Mexico to the United States.

According to published reports, Honda is looking into increasing car production in the United States at the expense of production in Canada and Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs effective since last month.

Federal Liberal Mark Carney said Tuesday (April 15) while campaigning in Quebec he has been having multiple conversations with executives in the Canadian as well as global automobile industry. He left it unclear though whether those discussions revolved directly around the Honda report. Other members of cabinet have also been having discussions with industry executives, he said.

"So we are very seized with the issue," Carney said. 

He added that the report points to the "scale of the attack" on the Canadian auto sector as well as other sectors. He added the North American automobile sector is the most integrated industrial manufacturing sector in the world.

"So President Trump's tariffs are an attempt to some degree to pull apart that integration and the benefits that come from that integration." 

More to come...