CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
Canada’s industry minister says the Ontario government hasn’t committed to paying its “fair share” to help advance negotiations with automaker Stellantis NV over an electric-vehicle battery plant. Francois-Philippe Champagne said the Canadian government will be competitive with the US when it comes to the auto sector. “What we now need is for Ontario to pay its fair share. Full stop. Windsor is a key place to build our EV ecosystem,” the minister wrote Monday night on Twitter, referring to the southern Ontario city where the plant would be located.
Stellantis and LG Energy Solution Ltd. announced the project last year, but said Monday they’ve halted construction as they wage a battle for more public money from Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has already offered up to C$13 billion ($9.6 billion) to Volkswagen AG to lure a vehicle battery plant to Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and the heart of its auto industry.
Champagne sent the tweet from South Korea, LG’s home country, where he’s on a trade trip with Trudeau. A spokesperson for Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford earlier told The Canadian Press that the federal government needs to support Stellantis in the same manner as Volkswagen. “It really worries me,” he said. “We need the federal government to come to the table and show their support like they have all along.”
Stellantis and LG Energy pledged to invest more than $4 billion in the Windsor battery facility. Meanwhile, Ontario and Canada promised about C$1 billion to help Stellantis retool two Ontario plants to build electric vehicles.
However, both announcements came months before US President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains rich incentives for EV manufacturing. Trudeau subsequently promised more government assistance to help Canadian manufacturers compete.
If built, the 45 gigawatt-hour factory would create 2,500 jobs and supply Stellantis’s assembly plant in Windsor and others across North America.
Share This:
