Ontario Official Envisions End-to-End EV Supply Chain

OTTAWA – Ontario’s minister for economic development, job creation and trade says his conservative government will push for the province to become an end-to-end electric-vehicle maker – from battery-mineral production to parts and auto assembly.

Vic Fedeli tells Wards in an interview: “We’re going to play a central role in this and leading not only by example, but with our checkbook as well. Our vision is to position Ontario as the most important center of developing the automobile of the future. We want to be a global leader with the whole ecosystem from critical minerals to automobile plants.”

The province is well placed to achieve this goal, having by far Canada’s largest auto industry (bigger than any U.S. state except Michigan, Fedeli claims), a major and diversified parts sector and – in northern Ontario – a strong mining sector producing the key battery minerals lithium and nickel.

And as a senior figure in a right-of-center administration that replaced a left-leaning Liberal government in 2018, Fedeli (pictured, below left) is keen to stress his government’s record in reducing business costs in Ontario, saying it has attracted EV investment.

Vic Fedeli_0_1

By contrast, claims Fedeli, “Since we got elected, we have lowered the cost of doing business in Ontario.”

The minister says these actions have led to Ford’s recent investment of C$1.8 billion ($1.4 billion) in building a new battery-electric-vehicle plant at Oakville, near Toronto; Stellantis investing up to C$1.5 billion ($1.15 billion) to upgrade its Windsor plant to build new electrified vehicles; and General Motors spending C$1 billion ($780 million) on manufacturing its new EV600 electric van at the CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll.

Another lobbying point used by the Ontario government when pushing for battery-maker investment is the ready supply of critical raw materials, not just within Canada, but in Ontario. The north of the province, notably near Sudbury and Thunder Bay, has significant deposits of lithium and nickel that either are already being mined or are under development, for instance.

As well as reducing costs, Fedeli says such short reliable supply lines limit the environmental impact of manufacturing batteries, a potentially valuable marketing point, which is buttressed by Ontario’s electricity supply mix being 94% zero-carbon (60% nuclear, 26% hydro, 7% wind, 2% solar, and the remainder mainly natural gas, with some biomass).

GM EV600 Brightdrop-van

Fedeli argues this compares well with U.S. competitors such as Kentucky, with 69% of its power generated by coal. This matters when selling EVs, the minister says: “With EVs, there’s a moral calculation – that when you are buying, you expect it to be green.”

Another strength of the Ontario auto sector, Fedeli says, is the fact that it has 12 universities and 24 colleges that run auto sector-focused programs, a development encouraged by the government prioritizing university funding to technology and engineering courses whose graduates take on industrial jobs in the province.

Fedeli says the provincial government also has worked with the federal government to boost available talent – fast-tracking the issuing of work permits within 10 days for qualified technicians from abroad. The minister says this has been leveraged through investments such as the C$56.4 million ($44.3 million) sunk into the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, which develops R&D, commercializes small business ideas, funds training and networking, and more.

Lithium deposit (Northern Ontario Business)

 The province also is investing an additional C$12 million ($9.2 million) through the Ontario Automotive Modernization Program to persuade the province’s major auto-parts makers to shift to producing EV parts and batteries.

Fedeli adds there are initiatives to manufacture battery materials in Ontario as well. One example is Canada-based First Cobalt, which has said it plans to build a specialist facility to produce EV battery materials, including cathode chemicals, in Ontario.

“We want the EV ecosystem to be made in Ontario,” the minister says. “Our electric-vehicle strategy is about securing the future of Ontario. We want to see all of our OEMs involved in making commitments to make battery-electric vehicles and we will continue to look for future opportunities.”