Super Bowl ad critical of GM causes stir in Canada

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A Super Bowl commercial not seen in the United States is causing controversy in Canada.

Unifor, a Canadian autoworkers' union, paid for 33 seconds for an ad that denounced U.S. automaker General Motors Canada for planning to close its Oshawa, Ontario, plant by the end of 2019. The action will eliminate about 2,600 jobs.

The ad was seen on the CTV network, which broadcast the NFL championship game in Canada.

The ad, named "GM Leaves Canadians Out in the Cold," called the automaker greedy and "un-Canadian." It urged customers to boycott several Mexican-built GM models in an attempt to save the Oshawa plant, which built the Chevrolet Equinox model before production was moved to Mexico in 2017.

It noted the subsidiary of U.S.-based GM benefited from an $11 billion bailout from the Canadian government, and closes with the spoken comment, "GM, you may have forgotten our generosity but we'll never forget your greed."

On Sunday night, Unifor President Jerry Dias confirmed the advertisement was successfully presented on television across Canada.

Before the game, General Motors Canada urged the union to cease "publication of the ad," which has been posted to YouTube since Jan. 21. The cease-and-desist letter from GM called the ad false and misleading, and says GM Canada repaid its loans in full in 2009.

"Since 2009, GM Canada has contributed over $100 billion to the Canadian economy, including $8 billion invested into worker pensions," it said.

So proud to watch @SuperBowl on @CTVToronto and see this important message to Canadians to #SaveOshawaGM https://t.co/zbVY8l0xue

- Jerry Dias (@JerryPDias) February 4, 2019