NextStar 'full speed ahead' with Ontario EV battery production amid Trump tariff uncertainty
CBC
Windsor, Ont.,'s massive electric vehicle battery plant expects to start producing cells by July — amid uncertainty surrounding possible automotive-related tariffs imposed by the U.S., as threatened by Donald Trump during his election campaign.
According to NextStar's chief operating officer Joe Araujo, things remain "full speed ahead."
"Our two parent companies, Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions have had relationships with both the governments of the United States and here in Canada, and they'll continue to collaborate with the leaders of those two countries," he told CBC News.
Araujo says they're also not worried about jobs being affected by the shift in U.S. government.
"There's no concern from our end. By the end of next year, we'll have everything in place to run."
In October, the EV battery plant announced it had begun module production at the southwestern Ontario factory — labelling it as a "pivotal landmark" for its operations.
Modules are groups of battery cells. The cells themselves are currently being shipped in from Poland but by next summer they're expected to also be produced in-house in Windsor.
"In July of 2025 we will be producing cells which go into those modules," said Araujo.
He says the modules currently being produced in Windsor remain in their "launch phase," and are being delivered to Stellantis assembly lines across North America.
"They're flexible for any vehicle that we build."
Eventually, he says, their modules will also end up going to the Windsor assembly plant.
Araujo says he expects Stellantis to inform the public what plants are using the modules "when the timing is right."
The Windsor EV battery factory is expected to be physically complete by mid-2025, according to Arajuo. Equipment will continue to be installed in phases.
So far, he says, roughly 570 people have been hired across a range of mainly engineering and technician positions. And that number is expected to grow to more than 600 as the calendar flips into the new year.
Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club has asked a judge to decide whether the City of Winnipeg can ignore a provincial decision about residential housing slated to rise next to the club.
A Saskatoon woman says she watched her neighbour's police standoff play out in real time on social media.
One person is dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, following an incident Friday at a building in Regina.
A wind storm that caused the cancellation of all daytime ferries between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland stranded passengers on both sides of the Salish Sea, adding challenges for travelers in an already hectic holiday travel week.
Maritime Electric has officially filed plans with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the rotating power outages it says may be necessary this winter to prevent a provincewide blackout.
A Toronto hotel has organized a Christmas Eve buffet lunch for some Thorncliffe Park residents forced out of their condo units by a complex fire.
Residents in Fort Liard, N.W.T., are being advised to use filtered or bottled water and take other measures to protect themselves from high levels of disinfection byproducts called trihalomethanes in the tap water.
Alberta's election agency announced Monday it has approved a proposed referendum question on the province separating from Canada.
One person has been shot by police after allegedly stabbing two people in Toronto's northwest on Monday, police say.
Prince Edward Island's housing market is becoming more balanced, according to new data.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is presenting a new plan worth more than $35.5 billion to keep First Nations children connected to their communities, culture and families.
The RCMP arrested two men who allegedly used a classified ads website to recruit women to smuggle cannabis out of Canada to Nigeria via the country’s biggest airport.
One person is in a critical condition after an incident in Inukjuak, Que., which led to a shoot-out with police.