Stellantis construction still stalled as industry urges haste on 'once in a generation' investment

As the stalemate that has shut down construction on the Stellantis EV battery plant in Windsor, Ont., drags on, one industry voice says Canada "cannot hesitate" if leaders want to secure such investments.

Brian Kingston, CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, the industry representing Ford, General Motors and Stellantis in Canada, said it is a critical time for Canada to expand its automotive manufacturing footprint and compete with the United States for investment as the industry races to electrification. 

"If you look over the history of the automotive industry, Canada has been responsible for around 10 per cent of automotive production," he said.

"Now with this transformation to electrification, we have a once-in-a generation opportunity to secure more of that because of our natural advantages like access to critical minerals ... Now is the time we should be securing our existing footprint and doing everything possible to win more investment into Canada and grow this industry."

Kingston said governments "cannot hesitate" if they want to secure these investments for Canada, and said a deal between the automaker and Canada should be "straightforward:" a dollar-for-dollar match to what's on offer in the United States.

Construction at part of Stellantis' Windsor EV battery factory is still on pause, a spokesperson said Wednesday, three days after construction first stopped amid negotiations with government officials about the company's deal to build the highly anticipated plant in Windsor.  

LouAnn Gosselin said any ongoing construction at the site is at the battery cell portion, but the bulk of construction was taking place at the company's module portion of the facility — construction that still had not resumed Wednesday. 

"Stellantis and LG Energy Solution simply ask that the Canadian government keep its commitments in relation to what was agreed last February and which led us to continue construction work of the gigafactory in Windsor," the statement reads. 

Gosselin said she was unable to comment, beyond a provided statement, on whether other construction for the project was in jeopardy, as negotiations between the company and the federal and provincial governments drag on. 

Meanwhile, politicians at different levels of government have been divided over who bears the responsibility for the ongoing negotiations with Stellantis, which wants Canada to match production incentives offered under the United States Inflation Reduction Act. 

Federal Minister of Industry Francois-Phillippe Champagne has said the provincial government needs to pay its fair share in negotiations, while Premier Doug Ford and other provincial representatives have said the federal government bears responsibility for negotiations to match what is a piece of U.S. federal policy.  

'The agreement will be signed:' Local MP

Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk told CBC Windsor negotiations are ongoing between federal and provincial representatives, and Stellantis and Unifor. 

"You know all the partners celebrated together last March when the original agreement was signed with Stellantis," Kusmierczyk said. "We're now in the process of negotiating a second agreement with Stellantis and with Ontario and again that same spirit of partnership will get us through this."

Kusmierczyk described the negotiations as "tough."

He said the upcoming plants in St. Thomas, Ont., and Windsor would serve as "anchors" in Canada's green energy and manufacturing supply chain. 

"We firmly believe that obviously the federal government is already at the table with unprecedented record investment for both [Volkswagen] and Stellantis …But we fully believe that if we want to compete against the United States and with the United States, which is a $24-trillion economy — Canada's economy is a $2-trillion economy — we need an all hands on deck approach. 

"The agreement will be signed and a battery plant will be built in Windsor."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister Champagne are in Seoul, South Korea, this week, and Kusmierczyk said he expects there to be discussions going on there. LG Energy Solution, a partner with Stellantis on the plant, is based in Seoul. 

But Windsor West MP Brian Masse said the push and pull of responsibility, all playing out in the press, looks "unprofessional."

"It seems to be that they took a victory lap before the race even started," Masse said.

Masse renewed calls for a national auto strategy that he said would help Canada compete for auto investment. He also said that if batteries aren't going to be manufactured in Canada, the country shouldn't "rip and ship" resources out to be manufactured elsewhere. 

"[The NDP] policy that we've crafted is more similar to that of the United States where it's very transparent," Masse said. "You know the incentive models that are there in the cost and what you can access … that then allows us to compete instead of these one-off attempts that lend ourselves to basically being renegotiated upon on a regular basis. 

"Because once somebody finds out whatever somebody else got … you're back at the bargaining table again."