Province committing one-third of Stellantis deal cash, Ford says in Thursday stop
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says talks are progressing
Ontario will contribute one-third of the cost to secure a deal with Stellantis to save Windsor's electric vehicle battery plant, Premier Doug Ford revealed Thursday, though the final amount the province is chipping in won't be made public until after a deal is signed.
Making an announcement in Windsor-Essex, Ford maintained the deal with Stellantis was the federal government's to secure.
"We're here to help them get the deal, " Ford said. "This is the federal government's deal, we're there to support them, we're putting more money up and I think we're that close from getting it done."
Ford told reporters he was up "until 2 a.m." on the phone with counterparts including Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
As for when the total amount of the provincial government's contribution will be made public, Ford said it'll be "after the deal is signed."
"We're in for one-third the cost," Ford said. "This is all about the people, supporting the people, supporting the workers in this community."
The EV battery plant was expected to be open next year and create 2,500 jobs, according to the automaker and LG Energy Solution.
WATCH | Minister Champagne answers questions about Windsor EV battery deal
Friday marks three weeks since Stellantis said it was moving to "contingency plans" because it said the federal government wasn't honouring its agreement. The automaker then stopped most of its construction at the site.
Ford said he was not concerned about setting a precedent for other companies looking to locate in Ontario, even though Stellantis and LG could potentially receive billions more than initially planned to build the facility in Windsor.
Automaker denies there's a tentative deal
In an email response to CBC News, the automaker denied that a tentative deal had been worked out, something that was reported by the Toronto Star on Wednesday.
"Stellantis does not confirm what has been reported and to date has not received an official response from its previously sent letters," said Stellantis spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin.
Ford said he "[didn't] know" the accuracy of the story, but said a deal would ensure "staggering" spinoff jobs.
"This is about the people, about our students, that are gonna be here building homes and spin off jobs from Stellantis' 2,500 people," he said.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada's industry minister, says talks are progressing but also wouldn't confirm Thursday morning that a tentative deal has been secured.
"My objective as it's always been is to get the possible deal for workers, for the auto industry and Canada," he said.
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, said on Twitter Thursday the last three weeks had been difficult for Unifor members at Stellantis.
"For three weeks and every single day of those weeks, I have actively worked with all parties to push them to an agreement as soon as possible in order to protect the livelihoods of thousands of workers in Canada," Payne said.
"As a union, we know a deal is done when the parties confirm there is one and it is signed, sealed and delivered."
WATCH | U.S. economy and new incentives put Canada at disadvantage in Stellantis negotiations, prof says
With Ford saying the province would commit to putting "more money on the table," reporters asked Champagne Thursday if the added funding could help match the new U.S. legislation called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
"If you look back at the fall economic statement we were very, very clear about what we were doing," said Champagne.
"In order to position Canadian workers for jobs for decades to come we would level the playing field with the United States but we'd do that in a very selective, strategic and limited way."
Champagne refers to the negotiations and circumstances surrounding them as "generational."
"You can never win on the money when you're Canada. What you're merely doing is leveling the playing field," he added, highlighting the critical minerals available in Canada and the workforce.