Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Canada, Honda to meet about potential EV plant, says government source

Share
OTTAWA -

Canadian officials are meeting representatives of Honda Motor this week, a government source said, following a news report that the carmaker was considering building an almost 2 trillion yen (US$13.9 billion) electric vehicle plant in the country.

The Ottawa talks will involve several different federal departments, said the source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak on the record.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. first reported this week's meeting, citing sources.

Honda declined to comment on whether its representatives planned to meet with Canadian officials this week. There was nothing it could disclose at this time, a Honda spokesperson in Tokyo said.

On Sunday, Japan's Nikkei news group reported that Honda is looking at multiple potential sites for the plant, including next to an existing automobile factory in Alliston, Ont.

The report said Honda expects to make a decision by the end of 2024 and bring the new facility online as early as 2028.

"Federal government representatives are engaging with Honda on an ongoing basis -- as they do with all other major potential investors," said Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

She said that Canada has a "strong relationship" with the company.

Canada, which is home to a large mining sector, has wooed companies involved in all levels of the EV supply chain to safeguard the future of its manufacturing heartland in Ontario as the world seeks to cut carbon emissions.

Volkswagen and Stellantis-LG Energy Solution will receive heavy support from the Canadian government for their planned battery gigafactories in the country. The government says these "anchors" will help the country scale up its EV supply chain.

Honda, Japan's second-biggest carmaker, has been slow to step up sales of electric vehicles. The automaker, with partner LG Energy Solution, in 2022 announced Ohio as the site of a planned US$4.4 billion joint venture battery plant. (US$1 = 144.1500 yen)

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Trudeau government survives another Conservative-led non-confidence vote

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government survived another Conservative-led non-confidence vote on Tuesday, the second in less than a week. This, the same day the Bloc Quebecois had an opportunity to table a non-confidence motion of its own, opting instead to push the Liberals to support one of its key demands.

A small bush on a ledge appears to have "miraculously" saved the life of a climber who fell down the steep slope of a mountain, according to B.C. search and rescue crews.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.

Tributes have started pouring in for a Midland, Ont. man who died after reportedly being struck by an unmarked provincial police vehicle over the weekend.

Local Spotlight

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Stay Connected