'Gigafactory' in St. Thomas good news for Windsor-Essex, stakeholders say
With Volkswagen poised to put a so-called “gigafactory” in St. Thomas, Ont., some raised questions over whether that might detract from Windsor-Essex’s auto mobility aspirations — but stakeholders say fear not.
Stephen MacKenzie, president and CEO of Invest WindsorEssex says the announcement is good for the region as a whole, Windsor-Essex included.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful win for all of us,” he says.
MacKenzie says a majority of the work leading up to the planned 2024 opening of the NextStar battery plant in Windsor has revolved around attracting suppliers who might want to set up shop close to the facility.
He says having another large EV battery plant just hours up the highway only makes that an easier sell.
“There's lots of opportunities for those companies to set up between us,” MacKenzie says.
Both plants signal a change in tide for the region’s relationship with vehicle manufacturing, according to MacKenzie. A relationship going back about a century, but with a complicated past few decades.
“In this region there was a 20 year slow decline on automotive and related industry, but we have really turned that around and we are growing again,” he says.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association characterized Monday’s announcement in St. Thomas as a game changer for the town and the industry.
“St. Thomas lost automotive production from Ford and truck production from Sterling in 2010,” he said.
“There is no precedent for a town to get back into the auto business after it's lost. This is like the Nordics playing in Quebec City again.”
MacKenzie says while the future is bright, the work is far from over.
“As a region we’ll have to work hard to make sure it gets implemented properly,” he says. “Working with the companies, making sure communities have sufficient housing and the infrastructure to absorb – because certainly people are going to have to move here.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.