The call for action comes as Canadian auto dealers adjust to new realities in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, as some provinces force non-essential businesses to close and as consumers stay home.

Automakers typically idle assembly plants for weeks during the summer and winter for retooling. Rob Wildeboer, who heads supplier Martinrea International Inc., said automakers could look into moving those weeks up to "weather the storm" of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Product has been taken away from General Motors plants in Oshawa and Ingersoll facilities in Ontario despite the facilities being recognized as two of the automaker’s "best" in the world.

The diversified Canadian supplier said it continues to expect lower sales in 2020, amid the coronavirus outbreak in China, which makes up about 5 percent of the company’s annual sales.

While PSA would focus on the compact- and midsize-car segments, North America CEO Larry Dominique says Peugeot could peddle a pickup in the region after its tie-up with FCA closes.

Unifor President Jerry Dias said FCA never approached him or Unifor with a proposition similar to the one GM alleges FCA agreed to with the UAW. He said FCA would not “even think about” doing so because of the union’s culture. “The bottom line is we bargain hard,” Dias said.

COO Bill Lucchini succeeds founder Gary Kalk as the Toronto company looks to further expand its business in the United States and Canada. Kalk becomes executive chairman.

In many ways, the Ontario plant has been synonymous with Canadian auto manufacturing since the turn of the 20th century, its output a symbol of Canadian manufacturing might. If it can be shuttered, is any plant safe?

Unifor President Jerry Dias holds out hope that GM will assemble vehicles again at its Oshawa, Ontario, plant. In the meantime, the union and city prepare for the factory's shift to stamping parts and testing connected-vehicle technology.

What does UAW's success in bargaining with Ford and General Motors mean for Unifor, Canadian autoworkers and new product for Ontario plants?

Pierre Boutin, who also headed VW in Russia, follows Daniel Weissland as chief of VW Group Canada effective Jan. 1. 

The company said it is closing Chevrolet of Lincoln Park and Cadillac of Lincoln Park. AutoCanada executives said the company has lost C$2 million ($1.5 million) on the stores in the first nine months of the year.