Feds, Ontario ante up millions to produce EVs at Ford’s Oakville plant

Ford’s Oakville Assembly plant. PHOTO: FORD OF CANADA

OTTAWA — The federal and Ontario governments are each chipping in more than $250 million to mass produce electric vehicles – and the batteries that power them – at Ford Motor Co.’s plant in Oakville, Ont.

It is part of a three-year agreement worth nearly $2 billion that was announced last month between the automaker and Unifor, the union that represents autoworkers in Canada.

The Ontario Premier Doug Ford is to be at the Oakville plant with representatives of the motor company for the announcement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Unifor president Jerry Dias are to hook up with them virtually from the company’s connectivity and innovation centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata.

The Oakville plant employs 3,400 Ford workers and Dias has said retooling the plant to produce electric vehicles will save 3,000 of those jobs.

From the Liberal government’s perspective, the investment will not only help secure good-paying jobs in the struggling auto sector. It hopes it will give Canada an edge in the global competition to meet what’s expected to be explosive demand for electric vehicles in the near future.

The investment is also part of the government’s commitment to invest in the transition to a clean, renewable-energy economy, with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

It has already committed more than $300 million to create a network of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles across the country. And it is providing incentives of up to $5,000 off the price of purchasing or leasing electric and hybrid vehicles.

The federal government also hopes the new investment will help boost home-grown mining companies that produce the nickel and other metals used to make the batteries for electric vehicles.