A deal to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor is inching closer, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday.
“I would say everyone should take a deep breath, things are going well, the negotiations are progressing,” Champagne said following a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa.
“We’re getting closer to the end of the negotiation.”
The federal government, Ontario, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution have been in heavy negotiations for a few weeks after the companies paused construction on their planned factory in a dispute over federal subsidies.
The negotiations have been stuck between what Canada thinks is fair and affordable and what the company believes it is due. It has threatened to move the plant out of Windsor if it doesn’t get what it says it was promised by the federal government in a “special contribution agreement” in February.
Champagne said the company has to be “reasonable.”
The companies announced the plan for the battery facility in March 2022 with a $1-billion capital contribution from the federal and provincial governments.
But the companies went back for more government support after the United States announced new production tax credits for EV battery makers as part of the Inflation Reduction Agreement.
That legislation compelled Canada to sign an agreement with Volkswagen to subsidize batteries made at a planned new plant in St. Thomas, Ont., that could be worth up to $13 billion over a decade.
Champagne said he made a similar offer to Stellantis, but negotiations continue about how the formula would apply to the Stellantis plant, which is half the size of Volkswagen’s but will start producing batteries three years earlier.
The subsidies are directly proportionate to the tax credits on offer under the IRA, which start at a tax credit of $35 per kilowatt hour from now until 2030, when they begin to be phased out. By 2033, they will be eliminated.
The Volkswagen deal includes a clause that ensures Canada’s subsidies keep pace with the U.S. tax credits, and if the IRA is reduced or eliminated earlier than planned, Canada’s subsidies will go down an equal amount.
The Stellantis plant is have an annual production capacity of 45 gigawatt hours, which could make enough batteries for more than 400,000 vehicles a year, with the first production happening as early as 2024.
Volkswagen’s plant, with twice the production capacity, could produce enough for nearly a million vehicles annually, with initial production starting in 2027.
Neither company’s plant is likely to make the maximum number of batteries in its first year.
In Canada, the production timelines would make Stellantis eligible for the full equivalent subsidy for nearly seven years, while Volkswagen would be getting it for just three or four.
Both plants are mainly intended to supply batteries to the companies’ own EVs. For Volkswagen, those won’t be made in Canada, as it has no auto plants in the country and no intention to build any.
Stellantis is retooling its auto manufacturing sites in both Windsor and Brampton, Ont., to be able to make electric vehicles. Champagne said stronger commitments, particularly for the Brampton plant, are part of the ongoing talks with the company right now.
“That’s all part of the negotiation,” he said.
Canada also insisted that the Ontario government put additional funds on the table, which Premier Doug Ford initially balked at but later committed to doing.
Champagne said he spoke with Ontario Premier Doug Ford both Tuesday and Wednesday.
“For me, this is an ongoing discussion,” Champagne said. “We talk every day. And we’re going to get to a deal. I’m very confident on that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2023.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
