OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s industry minister said on Tuesday that he is optimistic about reaching a deal with carmaker Stellantis over subsidies to build a battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, as long as the provincial government also offers some support.
“I’m very confident that we will come to an agreement,” Industry Minister Francois Philippe-Champagne told reporters in Seoul during a press conference shown on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Champagne said talks were ongoing with the company and that it was important that the Ontario provincial government “pay its fair share”.
Stellantis has stopped construction at a more-than C$5 billion ($3.7 billion) electric-vehicle battery plant in Canada amid talks with the federal government.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
