An hour from Toronto, downtown Oshawa seems to exude the vibe of a pleasant small town. But signs of economic stress are multiplying in the place that once fashioned itself as Canada’s motor city.

Lines form early outside the food bank on Simcoe Street where customers load strollers with pasta and bags of bread. Homeless encampments dot the river trail. Inside local food joints like Ciao Amici, a lunch stop serving Italian specialties, conversations drift toward layoffs. On that front, there’s a lot to talk about.

Unemployment has surged in Oshawa and now tops 9%, one of the highest rates of any Canadian city. In May, shortly after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on automobiles, General Motors Co. said it planned to reduce output at the only Canadian assembly plant it owns that builds pickup trucks. The move affects some 700 jobs at the factory. Many more people will feel the ripple effects.

As the Trump administration tries to pull more automotive jobs into the US, Oshawa’s reckoning is a warning to other manufacturing cities.

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