From mining critical minerals to building batteries and cars, Ontario and Canada continue to attract historic, transformational investments across the electric vehicle supply chain to secure more good-paying jobs for workers today and for decades to come.
Last month, Ontario and Canada secured a historic investment from Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen is investing $7 billion to establish its first overseas electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ontario. This is the largest electric vehicle-related investment in Canadian history, signaling a strong vote of confidence in Ontario and Canada’s highly-skilled workers, strong economies, and competitive business environments.
Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were joined today by Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, to highlight this generational deal for St. Thomas, Ontario, and Canada’s entire electric vehicle supply chain.
The plant, Volkswagen’s largest to date, will create up to 3,000 direct jobs and up to 30,000 indirect jobs. Once complete in 2027, the plant will produce batteries for up to one million electric vehicles per year, bolstering Canada’s domestic battery manufacturing capacity to meet the demand for electric vehicles now and into the future. The plant, which will generate about $200 billion in value, will be the largest manufacturing plant in Canada. Construction is expected to begin next year.
To strengthen and grow St. Thomas and the surrounding communities, Ontario will invest in other important infrastructure projects across the region, including improvements to roads, highways, utility services, and police and fire services.
Since 2020, historic new investments have been made in Ontario by global automakers and electric vehicle batteries and battery materials suppliers. From mining critical minerals to building batteries and electric vehicles, Ontario and Canada have the resources and skilled workers to continue leading the world. This means a strong economy, good-paying jobs, and clean air now and into the future.