Automotive News Canada - November 2020 - v2 - 26

* N O V E M B E R 2 020

The EV plan for Oakville accelerated after
a conversation between Bains and Farley
September, Dias said he focused
on determining which company the union would bargain with
orate on funding to secure new
first.
investment for the plant.
He said he selected Ford on
Government incentives would
Sept. 8 because it was the first
prove to be critical to the deal. In
company to signal that it would
a statement, a spokeswoman for
invest in its Canadian operaFord of Canada said incentives
tions, among other goals the
are among the " key elements " in
union had set. According to Dias
attracting investments such as
and government officials, the
the one it plans for Oakville.
investment plans were beginning
FARLEY GETS INVOLVED
to fall into place by then.
According to the federal offiMeanwhile, Bains and his
cial, " This is all kind of
office were in communihappening behind the
cation with Stoneley and
scenes before Unifor
Ford Canada after the
is ratified, but we
news broke. But it soon
would've been sending
became clear that they
a letter to Ford just to
needed to go higher up the
give them some paper
corporate ladder, accordthat said we're supporting to the federal-governing you guys and we're
ment official with knowlinked for an amount
edge of the discussions.
that is above what we
The official quoted
Ford Canada
normally would do
Bains as saying, " OK,
CEO Dean
because you're doing
it's great that we've got
Stoneley,
green, and here are
this relationship with
pictured,
some of the expectathe Canadian CEO, and
was in the
tions that we would be
the Canadian CEO is
looking for. "
important. But we've got communication
loop, but
According to anothto send this message to
er federal source with
global because ultimate- according to
knowledge of the deal,
ly, global is going to dic- a government
official, Federal
Ottawa's investment
tate the terms of what
Economic
was contingent upon
the allocation is. "
Development
Ford committing to
Bains would soon
Minister Navdeep
spend at least $1.8 bilhave a call with Farley;
Bains wanted to
lion and preserving
it was a conversation
get in contact
jobs at the plant, which
that focused on the
with Ford in the
currently employs 3,400
" art of the possible " in
United States,
hourly workers.
Oakville, said the federal which calls the
Ottawa remained
official.
shots on plant
in close contact with
That's when things
investment.
its Ontario counter " really started to accelFILE PHOTO
parts, informing them
erate. In the subsequent
of its commitment to contribute
weeks, we started to see a change
$295 million to the project. The
in Ford's demeanor in that they
Ontario government would evenwere starting to consider pulltually follow suit.
ing the [zero-emissions vehicle]
" Governments around the
mandate out of Mexico and into
world know the benefits of winOakville. "
ning automotive investment, "
It remains unclear what Ford's
EV plans were for Mexico, but fed- said Fedeli. " We recognize that
as well. "
eral and provincial officials both
described the Oakville investment
THE FUTURE
as one that was originally slated
After about two weeks of negofor the automaker's Mexico opertiations, Unifor and Ford inked a
ations.
tentative contract, which would
The federal government offilater be overwhelmingly ratified
cial said that by the time Farley
was named as Hackett's successor
on Aug. 4, the " stars [were] aligning " to get a deal done in Oakville.
During that time, the federal and
provincial governments were in
communication to ensure that
they were on the same page with
regard to messaging, the official
said.
According to Dias, Farley
reached out shortly after he got
the CEO nod.
" We shot the breeze and had
a good conversation. In speaking with Farley and Hackett, they
would not have reached out to me
if they weren't looking for a solution, " Dias said.
Requests to Ford for comment
from Farley were declined.
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 9

UNIFOR TALKS
While talks informally began
months earlier, negotiations
between Unifor and the Detroit
Three officially began on Aug. 12
in Toronto.
Between then and early

Governments around the
world know the benefits
of winning automotive
investment. We recognize
that as well.
VIC FEDELI

Ontario minister of economic
development, job creation
and trade

by union members. On Oct. 8, the
governments announced their
financial support for the project,
totaling $590 million and nearly
one-third of the total cost of the
project, soon after.
Much remains to be seen moving forward. It is unclear what
EVs will be built in Oakville,
although Dias has said at least
one of the vehicles would be a
crossover. It is unclear what will
happen to workers while the
plant is being retooled sometime
after 2023 but before EV production begins in 2026. And, if 2020 is
any lesson, a lot can change in the
auto industry in six years' time.
But the union and governments are confident Ford's
planned investment in Oakville
will be transformative for the
Canadian auto industry and set
up the sector for an electrified
future.
For Ford, Oakville could soon
be an EV hub. For Unifor, jobs
that were once in danger are now
secure. For the federal government, the investment is a significant step forward in its ZEV
plans. And the Ontario government sees the investment as a
way to boost the province's supply chain and to perhaps build a
new battery supply chain, given
its mining sector.
" Everybody knew what needed
to be done, " Dias said. - ANC
- With files from Larry P.
Vellequette and Greg Layson

The Ontario government announces the province's funding
contribution toward Ford's $1.8-billion investment in its Oakville,
Ont., plant. Left to right, Unifor's Marc Brennan, Ford Canada CEO
Dean Stoneley, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Shane Wark, assistant
to Unifor National President Jerry Dias, and Ontario Economic
Development Minister Vic Fedeli. P H O T O : U N I F O R

The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau " aggressively " worked to attract auto
investment and bring Canada into the EV era,
said Unifor President Jerry Dias. F I L E P H O T O

Government
seems to have
woken up to
auto's importance
There isn't a national auto strategy
yet, like many in the industry want,
but the federal Liberals have made
some key deals that align with a
mandate to advance technology
By KELLY TAYLOR

WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

A YEAR AFTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU'S LIBERALS
returned to power with a minority government,
Canada's automotive sector would appear to be giving Ottawa a passing grade
for an aggressive approach to
a sector too often left to fend
for itself.
" There's no question,
we've always been critical of the lack of a [national] automotive strategy in
Canada, " said Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, which
represents Detroit Three factory workers in Canada.
" It has always been a misstep, especially considering
it's a $100-billion [a year] industry. "
But Dias credited the Liberals for " aggressively "
pursuing auto investment
and taking steps to launch
Canada into the electric-vehicle era.
" The biggest change is
unfolding now, with the
decisions made today. For
the first time, we're watching the federal and provincial governments kick down
barriers fast. "
Volpe: Being at the
Flavio Volpe, president
table for the USMCA
of the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers' Association, meant the auto
industry had a voice,
said having a seat at the
and that voice was
table as Ottawa planned its
heard. F I L E P H O T O
negotiations for the United
States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement (USMCA) resulted in gains for the
Canadian industry and improvements over the former North American Free Trade Agreement.
Volpe pointed to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles'
$1.3-billion investment in its Canadian plants,
Ford's decision to add EV production to its Oakville
Assembly plant - facilitated in part by an investment of $295 million each from the federal and
Ontario governments - and Toyota's decision to

ONE YEAR LATER

SPOTLIGHT

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Automotive News Canada - November 2020 - v2

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