OTTAWA—Automotive giant Stellantis has accepted an offer from the Canadian government to salvage an electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor after months of high-stakes talks drove Ottawa and the Ontario government to ante up to $16 billion in richer subsidies.
“We are pleased that the federal government with the support of the provincial government came back and met their commitment of levelling the playing field with the IRA. This collective effort enabled the deal to close and we are now resuming construction on the site in Windsor.” Not only were jobs on the line, but so was international investor confidence, say industry watchers. The dispute also tested the Trudeau government’s ability to live up to its much-touted ambition to launch a new “green” EV auto industry in Canada.and that the future of the Windsor plant was up in the air.
The joint venture had originally announced in March 2022 that it would build a $5-billion plant in Windsor that would produce 400,000 electric vehicle batteries a year starting as early as 2024, and provide 2,500 jobs. Meanwhile, the Trudeau government was trying to persuade German-based automaker Volkswagen and its subsidiary PowerCo to build an even bigger $7-billion EV battery plant in Canada.