Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says electrifying fleets and establishing new partnerships with Chinese electric vehicle companies can help get Canada out of its productivity rut.
Honda’s recent decision to shelve plans for a C$15 billion EV plant in Ontario is emblematic of foreign investors rethinking about building in Canada, with privileged duty-free access to the American market no longer a guarantee. Joly insists there’s a bigger picture to focus on.
“The idea is to be able, in North America, to adopt new technology,” Joly told POLITICO on the sidelines of the Public Policy Forum’s Canada Growth Summit in Toronto on Thursday. “If other countries don’t necessarily want to adopt them right now, we can adopt them first.”
Canada’s rapprochement with China under Prime Minister Mark Carney has turned heads in Washington after Ottawa axed its 100 percent duty on Chinese EVs earlier this year, breaking with the U.S. protectionist policy. Beijing lifted tariffs on Canadian agricultural products in return.
