OTTAWA — When Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne gets in front a microphone to talk about electrifying Canada's auto industry, he has a favourite line to sum up his efforts to attract global investment: "Not everyone in the world wakes up thinking about Canada.""I never stop," the 52-year-old former lawyer and business development strategist said in an interview. "You know me. I'm pretty persistent.
Nobody on his team could remember the last time Canada had discussions with German automakers at the senior executive level, he said. He threw open that door first with the CEO of Volkswagen Canada Group, which oversees its dealerships. Champagne was selling Canada's electric vehicle industry in Germany in May, in Japan in July, and in Detroit in September. In November he has meetings planned in South Korea.
But Pivnick said there is still much more to do if Canada is going to stay in competition to become a powerhouse in the sector. "We need to start working on worker transition right now, so that the autoworker today is an electric vehicle assembly worker tomorrow," he said.