TORONTO – Canada reconfirms itself as the “navel of the world” for the production of electric vehicles, either due to the presence of critical minerals for such production, or due to the presence of qualified personnel, or due to the large open spaces and the environmental vocation of the country: the fact is that in the last four years, car and battery manufacturers have announced investments of several billion dollars in the production of electric cars in Ontario and Quebec and, since today, a new, huge investment has been added. 

It is the one – anticipated in recent days – by Honda Canada, for around 15 billion dollars, to create the first complete supply chain of electric vehicles in the country, based in Ontario.

This large-scale project will see four new manufacturing facilities in Ontario. Honda will build an innovative, world-class electric vehicle assembly plant – the first of its kind for Honda Motor Co., Ltd. – as well as a new stand-alone battery manufacturing facility at Honda’s Alliston, Ontario facilities. To complete the supply chain, Honda will also build a cathode active materials and precursors (CAM/pCAM) processing plant through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. and a separation plant through a joint venture partnership venture with Asahi Kasei Corporation. Once fully operational in 2028, the new assembly plant will produce up to 240,000 vehicles per year.

“Honda’s investments in an electric vehicle assembly plant and a battery manufacturing plant in Alliston – reads the note released today by the Office of Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau – will create over one thousand well-paying manufacturing jobs in Ontario, with the CAM/pCAM processing plant and separator plant helping to create thousands of additional direct and indirect jobs in Ontario and across Canada, including during the construction phase and across Ontario’s leading auto parts supplier and research and development ecosystems“.

The investment was announced today during a press conference held in Alliston by – among others – Justin Trudeau himself, the Prime Minister of Ontario, Doug Ford, and Jean Marc Leclerc, President and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Canada.

“Today’s announcement – said Trudeau – is a game changer for manufacturing in Canada. Honda’s investment is a vote of confidence in Canada, in Canadian auto workers, and in our manufacturing sector. Together, we’re creating good-paying jobs, growing our economy, and keeping our air clean”.

“Today’s historic $15 billion investment by Honda – said Ford – delivers on our government’s promise to bring back manufacturing as part of our plan to rebuild Ontario’s economy, with thousands of good-paying union jobs and economic benefits for workers and families across the province. From our abundant critical minerals in the Ring of Fire to our highly skilled workforce, Ontario has what it takes to secure the jobs of the future as the world leader in electric vehicle manufacturing, with better jobs and bigger paycheques for our world-class workers”.

“Honda of Canada Manufacturing – said Leclerc – is one of the premier automotive manufacturing facilities in the world and, for nearly forty years, our work has been guided by determination, innovation, and a relentless drive to evolve. Today’s announcement is a historic investment by a manufacturer in the Canadian auto industry. It proudly honours the highly skilled associates who have earned a global reputation for manufacturing excellence and represents Honda’s recognition of the long-term attractiveness of the Canadian electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem”.

This is the latest in a series of historic investments Canada has attracted across our EV supply chain, from mining to manufacturing. With Honda’s new project, these investments now total more than $46 billion since 2020.

They also include, among others:

• $7 billion for a new EV battery manufacturing facility built by Northvolt Batteries North America in Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, Quebec.
• $7 billion for Volkswagen’s first overseas EV battery manufacturing plant, in St. Thomas, Ontario.
• Over $5 billion from Stellantis and LG Energy Solution to create a joint venture for the manufacturing of EV batteries in Windsor, Ontario.
• $1.8 billion for Ford’s repurposed battery-EV production plant at its Oakville Assembly Complex, in Ontario.
• $1.5 billion for Umicore to build a new world-leading net-zero facility in Loyalist Township, Ontario, which will produce essential components of EV batteries.
• $1.2 billion for a new battery materials production plant in Bécancour, Quebec, built by a consortium formed by the Ford Motor Company and South Korea’s EcoProBM and SK On.
• $600 million for a CAM facility to be built by a joint venture between General Motors and POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. in Bécancour, Quebec.

In the pic above: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and, to his right, Ontario Premier Doug Ford at today’s conference in Alliston (screenshot from the video published on the YouTube channel “Premier of Ontario”)