Ray Tanguay named government 'car czar' in Toronto on Tuesday

Representatives from the federal and provincial governments name Toyota Canada's recently retired chair Ray Tanguay to be their special adviser to help them oversee and guide the auto industry in Canada.

Ontario Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid and Federal Industry Minister James Moore tapped Tanguay to be their "car czar" — a special adviser tasked with helping the industry expand and thrive.

Tanguay was named chair of a subcommittee of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, an industry-led organization formed in September 2002 to address the key competitive issues facing the Canadian automotive industry. 

The new organization Tanguay heads up is tasked with advising both governments and business.

"I am confident that this new partnership, with Ray Tanguay's strategic advice and leadership, will allow Ontario to increase our competitiveness, productivity, and market share in the auto sector, and I look forward to their important work contributing to a more prosperous, innovative Ontario economy," Duguid said in a statement.

The recently retired chairman of Toyota's Canadian arm rose through the ranks at the Japanese automaker to become one of the highest-ranking non-Japanese executives at the company.

He was also instrumental in convincing the company to expand its assembly line operations in Canada to the point that the company has now made more than five million cars here.

The auto sector contributed $16 billion to Ontario's GDP last year, and the province's assembly plants built 16 per cent of all of North America's auto output over the past five years.

But after being a major player for several years, Canada has seen its influence wane as most new investment has migrated to lower-cost jurisdictions such as Mexico and Southeast Asia.