Choosing Canada S Automotive Future

Connected, autonomous, shared, and electric (CASE) vehicles could fundamentally change transportation, making it safer, cleaner, and more accessible. They also present new opportunities for Canadian industry, including in software development, motor vehicle and parts manufacturing, shared mobility services, infotainment, and infrastructure, as well as in data management, analytics, and security. Prototypes of low-speed autonomous shuttles and taxis are already being tested and are likely to appear on urban roads in the coming decades. There are autonomous delivery vehicles on the road today, and virtually every new vehicle currently being produced has some level of advanced driving assistance system and connectivity. These technologies will continue to evolve, connecting more vehicles to each other, to infrastructure, and to other users on the road. While their appearance in Canada may seem inevitable, the timing of their arrival and widespread adoption and acceptance remains uncertain, as does the likelihood that their benefits will be fully realized. Autonomous vehicles also raise important privacy and security concerns, could potentially worsen air quality and traffic congestion, and increase transportation inequities. Avoiding undesirable outcomes and achieving the benefits of CASE vehicles in Canada will require meeting significant technical and societal challenges and will depend on how industry, consumers, and governments respond to problems and opportunities today. Present-day planning and policy decisions related to public transit, ride sharing, and active transportation will affect how, when, and where CASE vehicles are used in Canada in the next 10, 20, and 50 years.

From the back cover: In this study, economist Ross Perry shows that all indicators point to a further restriction in the Canadian auto industry, resulting in further shrinkage of employment and the possibility of a major deterioration in the country's balance of payments. While the objective of the Auto Pact and Canadian automotive trade policy has always been job creation, Perry concludes that it will be increasingly difficult for the Canadian industry to be both viable and to generate jobs for the industrial heartland of Southern Ontario. Perry examines areas of specialization where Canada, with its advantages in energry-intensive products, could be competitive in the world market, and he outlines the two basic options for national policymakers - restructuring the industry for viability or resisting its decline.

Of developments in automotive policy in the United States and Canadaduring the past quarter century, and the prospects for the future. Alsoincluded is a discussion of the internationalization of the auto industry. Data are presented on trade balances between Canada and the United Statesfrom 1966-86 and Canadian value added from 1965-82.