Calling St. Thomas the place to build the future together, PM Justin Trudeau was at the Elgin County Railway Museum in St. Thomas to officially announce the city will be home to Volkswagen’s first EV battery plant in North America. The plant will occupy a footprint the size of 210 football fields and create 3,000 new jobs and up to 30,000 indirect jobs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford drew laughs as he painted a picture of just how massive the plant will be as well as the size of the new industrial park in the city’s east end.
Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Karen Vecchio called the investment a – quote – “really bright day for the community.”
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association, says people should focus more on the automaker’s output goal instead of Canada’s promised subsidy amount.
While Canada has pledged 13-billion in subsidies to Volkswagen to secure the deal, the automaker will have to meet 200-billion-dollars in output to secure the full deal.
Volpe also noted the St. Thomas site leaves room for more potential investment from Volkswagen, which is another positive.
written by: I. McAllum