Sen. Elissa Slotkin is traveling to Canada to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney and center-left allies, a trip that raises questions about priorities as Ottawa opens its market to tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles and Democratic strategists discuss “how to battle right-wing politicians on affordability.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat often mentioned as a 2028 prospect, is flying to Canada this weekend to join a summit organized by the Center for American Progress and to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney. The stated purpose for the gathering includes the line “how to battle right-wing politicians on affordability.” That framing, and the company she keeps there, deserves scrutiny from voters in the state she represents.

The trip places Slotkin alongside other national figures who are also seen as future Democratic leaders. It also puts her in the orbit of a prime minister who has been steering Canada toward closer ties with Beijing. Michigan people should notice that shift, because the state’s economy depends on an auto sector that could be hollowed out by unfairly priced foreign competition.

Carney’s government announced a “new strategic partnership” with China on January 16, 2026 and praised it with the words “China presents enormous opportunities for Canada.” The agreement includes a provision to allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into Canada at a most-favored-nation tariff rate of 6.1 percent, a number and rate that change competitive dynamics in the region.

Ottawa said the deal would attract Chinese joint-venture investment and expand Canada’s EV supply chain, and shipments began arriving quickly. On May 7 an initial delivery of Chinese-made SUVs crossed the Pacific, signaling that the policy shift is moving from paper to product and that the market effects will not be delayed goods in transit but immediate competition.

Carney has justified the move by saying many of Canada’s “former strengths” tied to close economic relations with America “have become weaknesses.” He argued that “the U.S. has changed and we must respond” and claimed Canada could no longer rely on “one foreign partner.” In short, the prime minister Slotkin will meet has chosen Beijing as a strategic economic partner.

Security and economic concerns about Chinese-made EVs are bipartisan and specific, not vague. A December 2025 congressional hearing titled “Trojan Horse: China’s Auto Threat to America” featured warnings from lawmakers and experts about how modern vehicles packed with sensors and connectivity pose risks beyond the price tag.

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar warned that Chinese-made vehicles could function as “potential spy platforms with a kill switch inside.” He highlighted how cameras, microphones, and networked electronics can become vectors for surveillance or disruption in times of crisis.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, speaking as a Democrat, described China’s tactics as “a familiar playbook of forced joint ventures, intellectual property theft, overproduction and dumping to dominate the auto sector.” He warned that some Chinese EVs are priced “below what it would even cost to make a car,” a tactic that destroys competitors rather than competing fairly.

Experts outside Congress echoed those alarms. A former diplomat called cellular modules in connected cars “the gateway” to transport systems, and an automotive executive compared the hardware risks to “the same kinds of risks in the physical world that TikTok represents in the digital world.” The overlap of economic pressure and technology-driven vulnerability is clear.

Given those warnings, it is reasonable to ask why a Michigan senator would spend a weekend in Ottawa with a leader who has invited 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into North America. The costs of lost manufacturing, supplier contracts, and jobs are not theoretical for Michigan towns that rely on assembly lines and parts plants.

The summit’s political angle should also concern voters. CAP President Neera Tanden framed the meeting around the question “How do we fight the authoritarian right?” and suggested Democrats could learn from Carney, who she said moved Canada’s Liberal Party “to the right on some issues” and “surged in popularity.” That political lesson is being promoted even as Carney deepens ties with an authoritarian communist government.

Critics note the irony of studying lessons from a politician who partnered strategically with Beijing while the left asks how to confront authoritarian tendencies at home. The think tank organizing the session has attracted attention for its funding and agenda, and that context matters when prospective presidential candidates are traveling overseas to take political cues.

Slotkin’s past public provocations have also raised eyebrows. She urged Democrats to “f***ing retake the flag” and appeared in a video telling military personnel they could “refuse illegal orders,” saying she was concerned about the military being used “against American citizens.” Those moments have been cited by critics as designed to excite partisan audiences rather than solve constituent problems.

When pressed on television about the specifics, Slotkin acknowledged that, to her knowledge, Trump had not actually issued illegal orders. That discrepancy between rhetoric and reality prompted former intelligence officers to argue she “knew exactly what she was putting together with her little propaganda video.” Political theater and foreign strategy sessions are different kinds of commitments.

The timing of this Canada trip is notable: it comes amid other high-profile Democratic appearances in Toronto and a pattern of party leaders spending political capital abroad. For voters concerned about jobs and security at home, the optics of that sequence are not flattering.

There is nothing illegal about attending a conference or meeting foreign leaders, but constituents deserve answers about who benefits. Slotkin is not publicly traveling to Ottawa to renegotiate trade deals for Michigan autoworkers; she is attending a strategy session hosted by a think tank while the host government deepens economic ties with Beijing.

The summit line “how to battle right-wing politicians on affordability” sounds like a campaign memo, but the policy path Carney has chosen undermines manufacturing affordability for the workers who build vehicles. Bringing in state-subsidized foreign cars at cut-rate prices is not a solution to high costs; it is a recipe for hollowed-out plants and lost paychecks.

Michigan voters sent Slotkin to Washington to defend their livelihoods, not to fly abroad for political lessons that risk accelerating foreign competition in the industry that underpins their communities. When an elected official travels to meet a leader who opened his market to Beijing, the question is not whether she had permission to go. The question is who she is really working for.