Unifor to begin ratification meetings Friday for tentative deal with Ford

TORONTO – The union representing roughly 5,000 workers at Ford Motor Co. in Canada will hold ratification meetings this week for a tentative contract agreement reached over the weekend.

Unifor said details of the proposed new contract will be presented to members at meetings starting this coming Friday and continuing over the weekend.

Unifor, which represents nearly 19,000 Canadian autoworkers across the sector, typically uses pattern bargaining for its auto sector negotiations. Once the Ford agreement is ratified, the union is expected to next turn its attention toward upcoming talks with Stellantis and General Motors.

The three-year agreement announced on Saturday has received the unanimous endorsement of the Unifor Ford master bargaining committee.

“We look forward to bringing this tentative agreement to our members,” said John D’Agnolo, chair of the bargaining committee, in a news release over the weekend.

“Our members put in the work on the shop floor every day, and our entire negotiating team made sure that work was recognized at the bargaining table.”

Unifor national president Lana Payne said securing the tentative agreement comes at a vital time for Canada’s autoworkers and the domestic industry.

“Every member of our bargaining committee came to the table resolved to reach a fair deal that protects good union jobs in the most challenging of economic times,” Payne said in a news release.

The new tentative agreement covers Ford workers at the company’s Oakville assembly plant, Windsor annex and Essex engine plants, and parts distribution centres in Paris and Casselman, Ont., and Leduc, Alta. 

Negotiations began June 22 in Toronto, ahead of the Sept. 20 expiration of current deals signed by the Detroit Three automakers and Unifor three years ago. The union said it was seeking another three-year contract with each company.

While Ford and Unifor released few details surrounding the tentative deal, the union had said it was keen to secure protections around job security, with the auto manufacturing sector having lost nearly 6,500 total jobs since February 2025.

This round of talks comes amid difficult conditions for the sector as it copes with U.S. tariffs, uncertainty linked to the future of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, and the introduction of Chinese electric vehicles into Canada.

The union opted to negotiate with Ford first, just as it did during the last round of talks in 2023, citing the company’s stability since U.S. tariffs on the industry began last year. It had set a July 10 deadline to come to terms with Ford.

The Trump administration announced earlier this month that the U.S. would not renew CUSMA “in its current form” but the trade agreement will remain in place as negotiations continue. That decision triggers a rolling annual review for up to a decade, at which point it will expire if an extension isn’t agreed upon.

A 25 per cent tariff on all cars and trucks not built in the U.S., along with their parts, remains in place. CUSMA-compliant auto and truck parts are not currently subject to that levy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026.