EVs, or electric vehicles, are hailed as the solution to climate change, promising a greener future. However, the production of EVs still has not taken off in Canada, as the Ontario-US Rust Belt, known for its integrated automobile supply chain, continues to lose steam with the current political climate. Enter Mark Carney. In January 2026, Prime Minister Carney signed a historic trade deal with China that would reshape the future of the country’s automobile industry. Not only would this deal seal China as the main EV exporter to Canada, with 49,000 Chinese-made EVs entering the country annually, but it would also significantly reduce the tariff rate from 100 percent in 2024 to 6.1 percent in 2026. This change represents a complete 180° from predecessor Justin Trudeau, who vowed to limit trade with China due to its human rights abuses. The idea is that Canada gains a new economic ally, reducing our dependence on the United States, while also promoting clean energy with EVs.
But is this too good to be true? A paradox arises since slave labour, specifically that of the Uyghur minority and other Turkic minorities, forms the essential cog in the Chinese state’s lucrative industry. The large number of workers and low wages allow for the state’s exploitation to produce cheaper EVs enjoyed by democratic “Pearsonian” human rights-supporting countries, such as Canada. This article sheds light on the murky supply chain of EVs and presents how each step is carried out with Uyghur labour.
It asks: Are EVs really the solution to combating climate change when the human rights abuses inherent in their production are well-documented? Is forming new alliances more important than human rights?
Forming the Battery: The Aluminum
The supply chain begins with the elements essential to building a battery. EVs are inherently different from other cars because of their rechargeable batteries, which is why they are appealing as a solution for reducing fossil fuel use. Aluminum is an essential component of batteries, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) produces 9 percent of the world’s aluminum. The Chinese government has therefore sought to make this region an industrial hub, exponentially increasing aluminum production from one million tons in 2010 to 6 million tons in 2022. This trend is only set to increase now that Canada is a stable market for EVs. Moreover, human rights organizations document a transfer of unpaid labour from the coal industry to the aluminum one, which is only set to increase as the Chinese economy gears towards the new Canadian market. How is it possible that not only car parts, but humans are transferred so swiftly within the supply chain?
Xi Jinping’s leadership entrenched the use of Uyghurs as necessary pawns in the Chinese economy. As a result, the state consistently attempts to erase the Uyghur identity to avoid a separation movement by destroying mosques, implementing widespread surveillance, and emigrating millions of Han Chinese to change the demographic of the territory so that Uyghurs are no longer in the majority. Yet the most salient feature of this repression is the “reeducation camps,” where Uyghurs are forced to eat pork, are prohibited from speaking their language, and tortured without any human rights oversight. Prisoners are often then forcibly sent to work in factories (including car-linked ones) as part of their release, with very little or without pay. All of this benefits the Chinese government, which not only governs a resource-rich region without fear of uprising, but also has a very large incarcerated Uyghur population of around 1,000,000 people susceptible to exploitative labour.
Assembling the Vehicle: Forced Labour in Production
The state has a clear pipeline of forced labour from Uyghurs forcibly transferred from re-education (concentration) camps to factories, specifically automobile ones. In 2024, 3.4 million Uyghurs were forcibly transferred to jobs in automobile production. Uyghurs were also forcibly displaced to the central provinces in the Car Valley to assemble the vehicles that fuel the national economy. Indeed, the Car Valley supposedly “welcomed” at least 1,500 Xinjiang transfer workers in 2022 and in 2023, and the provincial government said it “helped” more than 4,000 people from Xinjiang find work at 65 automotive plants. Although official statements use words with positive connotations, such as “welcoming” and “helped,” to present the displacement as a favour to unemployed minorities, this action is part of a larger cover-up by the state.
Forced Uyghur labour is part of a complex system where labour dispatchers receive cash rewards for each worker they send out. Party officials who pressure villagers from XUAR into transferring do too, and so do the industries that employ more than 30 ethnic minorities. Meanwhile, the Uyghur workers are unpaid and forced to work often under brutal conditions. This reward system makes tracking slave labour even more difficult, as it is embedded in every step of the production cycle and obscured by those who benefit.
Obfuscating the Supply Chain: A State-Mandated Secrecy
What happens to all the supply parts that come together? Are there no rules set by the World Trade Organization to monitor and mitigate the use of forced labour? The answer is yes, but when it comes to implementing supranational regulations in a sovereign country, organizations lack an enforcement mechanism, especially when faced with an economic giant like China. Zumretay Arkin, vice-president of the World Uyghur Congress, stated that “forced labour in China is not a corporate compliance problem; it is state policy that is systematic in its application by the state.” This state-mandated secrecy encourages Western democracies, such as Canada, to continue buying and investing in the Chinese auto industry. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has even recently passed a law barring actors from disclosing information about their supply chain, resulting in almost no oversight or transparency.
The very production process similarly conceals these unfair labour practices. For instance, returning to the battery’s formation, the Xinjiang-produced aluminum is shipped out of the region and alloyed with other metals. Consequently, once mixed, it is impossible to determine whether the minerals originated in XUAR. It allows tainted aluminum to enter domestic and global supply chains undetected, including in engine blocks and other vehicle parts. BYD, the Chinese automaker that is likely to enter the Canadian market, has also been under investigation for human rights abuses in its factories. By associating itself with China, Canada is aligning itself with a state that benefits from slave labour.
Making a Decision: Canada’s Legacy
It is understandable and even necessary for Canada to seek new economic partners, as our main ally and trading partner, the United States, has been wreaking havoc on the Canadian economy. That said, depending on China as a substitute partner for the US puts Canada in a strange position. As a middle power, Canada is often seen as a human rights defender due to its Pearsonian legacy of diplomacy. Yet, because the US is proving itself to be an unstable and even dangerous ally, Carney selected another major power known for leveraging economic deals to silence people and which uses unpaid labour to fuel its booming economy. Would an alternative be to find new partners, such as Korea, or even to invest in the country’s own auto industry? Regardless, if Canadian EVs were to flood the domestic market, people would be, as Uyghur refugee Sulayman describes, “driving a car blended with Uyghur blood.” Without properly ensuring a transparent, paid-labour chain, Canada may be sacrificing its image and “FP value-based pragmatism” for cheaper EVs. Is the blood of Uyghurs forced to work truly worth a greener image and a new ally?
Edited by Abigail George
This is an article written by a Staff Writer. Catalyst is a student-led platform
that fosters engagement with global issues from a learning perspective. The
opinions expressed above do not necessarily reflect the views of the
publication.
Maia Sunnberg is a U3 student at McGill University. She is currently pursuing a joint-honours degree in International Development and Political Science, with a minor in German. Human rights, specifically labour and minority rights, as well as ethics in an era of globalized trade are her particular fields of interest.