MONTREAL — A Montreal-area electric vehicle maker says the $100-million investment from Ottawa and Quebec announced Monday for a battery pack assembly plant will help make its fleet less expensive.
Lion Electric said the plant, which it plans to build near its headquarters in St-Jerome, Que., north of Montreal, will create 135 jobs once completed in 2023.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who made the announcement alongside Quebec Premier Francois Legault, said it’s a priority for his government to support the manufacturing sector and projects that will accelerate the electrification of the country’s transport systems.
“People are aware that the recovery is going to be extremely important and the kind of jobs and investments that Lion Electric represents, the kind of future that we’re going to be building by making investments together, is extremely exciting,” Trudeau said at Montreal’s downtown convention centre.
Lion Electric makes electric school busses and trucks, particularly for use in cities. Its customers include Amazon and CN. It announced plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange Nov. 30, through a merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.
President and founder Marc Bedard told reporters that without the government assistance, the new plant would probably have been built in the United States. The company, he said, currently buys its battery cells and modules from other providers, and he said they represent 40 per cent of the cost of an electric vehicle.
“It’s enormous,” Bedard said of the cost.
With the new factory, the company will be able to design and build its own battery modules, he said, which will allow the company to control the shape of batteries, optimize them for different conditions and buy battery cells from any supplier.
“It will change a lot of things. First of all, the cost of the batteries will be a lot cheaper,” he said, adding that the factory will allow Lion Electric to lower its prices and make electric vehicles more accessible. Lion Electric currently employs 465 people in its vehicle manufacturing facility.
Quebec and Ottawa will each provide $50 million, while Lion Electric will put $85 million into the project.
The funding from Quebec will come in the form of a loan, Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon told the news conference. Up to $15 million will be forgiven in five years if the company meets certain conditions, while the rest will have to be repaid over 15 years, he added.
Fitzgibbon said the commitments include maintaining a certain number of jobs in St-Jerome for 15 years. It’s those “commitments that justify the $15 million,” Fitzgibbon said.
Up to 100 per cent of the federal portion could be forgiven if certain conditions are met, federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said.
Legault said the announcement is good news for Quebec’s economy and its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We have the large majority of our energy coming from electricity, we don’t produce oil in Quebec, so every time we switch from oil to electricity, we win, not only for the environment but economically,” Legault said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2021.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
