Friday March 25, 2022
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 25, 2022
Ottawa and Ontario to invest in electric vehicle battery plant
October 16, 2020
Ontario’s auto industry is getting a much-needed jolt.
The provincial and federal governments are plugging hundreds of millions of dollars into a new electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor in an attempt to offset a much larger flow of EV investments to the United States under President Joe Biden’s “Buy America” push.
The $4 billion factory — to be announced Wednesday by automaker Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) and its battery partner LG Energy — will see contributions larger than the $132 million each level of government gave Honda last week to expand its plant in Alliston, sources told the Star.
Locating the plant in Ontario raises the odds of building more electric vehicles in the province as car companies speed their transition from internal combustion engines, said Flavio Volpe of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.
“We’ve landed a big one. This is major investors doing a generational investment on this side of the Detroit River,” Volpe added.