A Stellantis sign is seen outside the company's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.Rebecca Cook/Reuters
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Ottawa is making significant progress on a potential deal with automaking giant Stellantis STLA-N, as the company announced that it is reviewing a written offer from the federal government after weeks of negotiations to keep its electric-vehicle battery plant in Ontario.
Federal and provincial politicians expressed optimism on Tuesday that a deal with Stellantis could be struck in the coming days, which would prevent the company from moving construction of its $5-billion electric-vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., to the United States. The company halted construction of its plant more than three weeks ago, saying the federal government has not delivered on its commitments.
At issue is the government’s willingness to match billions of dollars in subsidies being offered in the United States as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Ottawa, in turn, has put pressure on the province to contribute more to potential subsidies.
Mr. Champagne said Tuesday he believes the deal is close, but wouldn’t say if Ottawa is prepared to propose more funds if the offer is refused, saying he won’t negotiate in public.
“I think we have made significant progress. We’re getting to the end of that,” Mr. Champagne told reporters in Ottawa.
“My job has always been … to get the best possible deal for the workers, for the industry and for Canada.”
A spokeswoman for Stellantis NV said Tuesday that the company, along with partner LG Energy Solution Ltd., has received Ottawa’s offer and is now looking it over.
“Stellantis and LGES are in receipt of a written offer that is currently under financial and legal review,” said Stellantis spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin. “We have nothing further to add at this time.”
The details of the offer have not been made public, but it is expected to include billions in additional subsidies for the company. Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province has pledged to cover one-third of the total cost of additional subsidies.
At Queen’s Park, Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said Tuesday he hopes a deal comes together quickly. He said Ontario’s contribution will eventually be made public.
“We’re optimistic that we’ll hear from Stellantis with good news,” Mr. Fedeli said. “The Premier has made our commitment. We’ve done what we’ve said we’ll do … we are going to commit up to one-third of the federal deal with Stellantis. Again, it’s really about securing those jobs for the people of Ontario.”
The Stellantis-LG deal to build the battery plant in Windsor was first announced in March of 2022, with the federal and provincial governments combining to offer about $1-billion in subsidies.
But that was before the much more generous U.S. subsidies were put on the table through the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, and before Ottawa and Ontario committed as much as $13-billion in production subsidies for a second battery plant to be built by Volkswagen in St. Thomas, Ont.
Mr. Champagne said Tuesday that Ottawa has committed to “levelling the playing field with the United States,” and has become a key player in the electric-vehicle industry.
“We’re talking about massive things,” that Canada has hardly ever seen, Mr. Champagne said.
“We’re winning. We’re in the big leagues, we land these mandates, Stellantis will get done, Volkswagen … has been done, and others are looking. So it’s creating also momentum for all sorts of investments to come to Canada.”
With a report from Bill Curry in Ottawa