General Motors will add the GMC Sierra HD to production at its Oshawa Assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, marking a significant expansion of the facility’s heavy-duty pickup program. The move is part of a new three-year agreement between GM and Unifor that includes more than C$1 billion in investments across the automaker’s Canadian operations.

Unifor members ratified the agreements on August 29^th and 30^th, with the GMCC [sic] agreement covering workers at Oshawa, St. Catharines, and Woodstock passing with 80.5 percent support. The contract includes C$144 million specifically for adding next-generation GMC Sierra HD production at Oshawa Assembly.

The investment will bring the next-generation GMC Sierra HD to the same Oshawa facility that builds the Chevy Silverado HD, giving GM a second full-size heavy-duty pickup nameplate at the plant. GM Authority previously reported that the next-generation Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD are expected to arrive for the 2029 model year, with production currently planned to begin in the fourth quarter of 2028.

The Sierra HD addition also changes the outlook for Oshawa as GM prepares to transition its full-size pickup production. The plant currently builds the light-duty Chevy Silverado 1500 alongside the Silverado HD, but GM Authority reported in June that the automaker is expected to end Silverado 1500 production at Oshawa before the end of 2026. GM has not confirmed that move, however, and previously said that production locations for the next-generation Silverado 1500 had not been disclosed.

Under the new agreement, GM will also add stamping and component work at Oshawa, including sunroof, back panel, and bodyside production, while preserving earlier commitments totaling C$63 million for stamping and CCA upgrades. The company has already committed another C$343 million to support next-generation heavy-duty truck production at the plant.

“GM is making these investments in both its highly skilled Canadian workforce and facilities at a crucial time,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. The next-generation GMC Sierra HD is expected to launch for the 2029 model year alongside the redesigned Chevy Silverado HD. For Oshawa, the agreement gives GM’s Canadian workforce a defined role in producing both trucks as the plant moves toward a heavier focus on HD pickups.

Plans to add production of next generation heavy duty trucks and transmissions and a promise not to sell another idled plant are part of the new collective agreement between General Motors and its unionized workers

Details of the agreement reached Aug. 22 were released by Unifor workers began the process of ratifying the deal this weekend.

The deal cover more than 4,600 unionized employees at the Oshawa Assembly Plant, CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, St. Catharines Propulsion Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.

Among the terms of the three year deal, GM will invest $144 million to add production of the next-generation GMC Sierra heavy duty trucks to the Oshawa Assembly plant.

The union says it also negotiated a new “innovative program” to help reduce the number of layoffs in Oshawa after a third shift at the plant was shelved back in January.

“Based on current customer demand and company volume forecasts for vehicle assembly production, Oshawa Assembly is expected to operate on two shifts for the duration of the 2026 Collective Agreement,” union officials are quoted as saying.

The Detroit-based automaker is also planning to invest $215 million in the St. Catharines plant towards assembly of the next-generation transmission, scheduled to begin in 2029. According to the union, the plant will be the single-source plant for this transmission and will result in the creation of 250 new jobs.

As for the idled CAMI plant in Ingersoll, GM has pledged in writing not to close or sell the plant as it continues to look for “new program opportunities.” The CAMI plant will also be the “first consideration” for allocation of Canadian Armed Forces defence work if GM is awarded the contract by the government of Canada.

The deal provides 3 per cent wage increases in each year of the agreement, along with a $10,000 productivity bonus for eligible members as well as a new December bonus.

The union is set to move onto labour talks with Stellantis next amid headwinds for the auto sector, including U.S. tariffs, the Trump administration’s decision not to extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, and the introduction of Chinese electric vehicles into Canada.

Construction is underway at the Durham College Oshawa GO station to add two new tracks that will help increase service on the Lakeshore East line, the Ontario government announced Wednesday.

The expansion will include new pedestrian bridges, a new north platform, an extended south platform and a bus loop, the province said in a news release. Crews will also build infrastructure that supports the future use of electric trains.

“These upgrades will increase capacity, improve accessibility and make it easier for thousands of commuters to get where they need to go,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said at a news conference Wednesday.

The expansion is part of the province’s plan to support two-way, all-day GO train service on the Lakeshore East line, the news release said.

The capacity increases will also help reduce pressure on Highway 401, Sarkaria said.

He did not say when the project is expected to be completed.

The government also didn’t provide a budget for the expansion. Sarkaria said the government will release those numbers once the procurement process has been completed.

He said the government is spending over $15 billion on various GO expansion projects, including the Oshawa GO construction.

Trade war impacting project costs, minister says

The project will happen alongside the province’s Bowmanville GO extension, which will extend the Lakeshore East line nearly 19 kilometers further into Durham Region.

That extension is expected to finish by 2041 and support 4.9 million trips annually, the news release said.

Sarkaria acknowledged that tariffs are impacting the cost of projects across Ontario.

“Whether you look at the cost of building anything in the province, given the introduction of tariffs, [it] would increase,” he said.

But he said that investing in public transit infrastructure is particularly important, given the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.

“We need to support domestic supply chains, we need to support domestic workers [and] we need to support domestic companies,” he said.

Durham Regional Chair John Henry told CBC News the expansion has been a “long time coming” and is necessary to support growth in the region.

Other projects' road closures ‘short-term pains’: minister

At Wednesday’s news conference, the transportation minister said Metrolinx is doing its best to minimize disruptions caused by several criticized road closures in Oshawa for the Bowmanville extension project, as well as separate closures for the province’s expansion of Highway 401.

“Ultimately though, these short-term pains that we see with respect to disruption are going to enable significantly more service for the same residents into the future,” Sarkaria said.

For the Bowmanville extension project, Simcoe Street between Avenue and Albany streets is fully closed until approximately January 2028.

Wilson Road S. is also fully closed from Dieppe Avenue. to Bloor Street E. until late spring 2027 for the Highway 401 widening project. Additional road closures are in place on Cubert Street and Park Road S. until fall 2027.

A dangerous and fast‑evolving weather system brought intense rounds of torrential rainfall, damaging winds and near zero visibility on local roads in Oshawa Wednesday morning, with reports of washed-out roads from the massive rainfall that hit the area.

Environment Canada issued yellow-level severe thunderstorm watches and warnings for most of the GTA, with the areas east of Toronto appearing to bear the brunt of the storm.

Reports flooded in on social media of floods on some major streets, including washed out Wilson Road and Central Park Boulevard in the city’s east end, with thunder and lightening and major downpours happening in the early morning hours.

Central Park resident Ishak Syed thanked the “amazing people” who jumped into the hip-deep water on Central Park Boulevard to help get three stranded cars out of the floodwater, as well as unclogging the roadside drains to allow the water to clear, the road to reopen, and traffic to start moving again. “It feels wonderful to know that we live in such a caring community, where people step up to help one another in times of need.”

Another poster reported “constant explosions” in the sky with “lots of rain,” while others posted about the torrential rainfall happening in the city.

“We’ll be needing paddles soon, boys,” was one light-hearted response to the conditions.

Visibility was limited and wiper blades worked overtime for those driving when the storm hit, with Highway 407 in particular cited for its dangerous driving conditions.

By 7 a.m. Environment Canada had lifted is severe thunderstorm warning in most of the region, which had warned residents and commuters that the heavy rains rain “may cause flash flooding and significant reductions to visibility.”

Large hail, which may cause “significant damage and injury,” and even a possible tornado (which did not make landfall) was also part of the warning.

The rain, which has been ongoing through the week before, also caused havoc with sports programming around the region, with Oshawa neighbours Clarington and Whitby both cancelling activities on the town’s baseball diamonds because of the conditions.