ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is offering more money in a bid to keep automaker Stellantis from pulling out of building an electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont.

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced last year that they were building the $5-billion plant, but have in recent days stopped construction and warned they were implementing contingency plans because the federal government hasn’t lived up to an agreement. 

The CEOs of the two companies wrote last month to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying Ottawa had confirmed in writing five times that it would match production incentives under the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, but has not delivered on those commitments.

But the federal government has been pressuring Ontario to pitch in as well, saying the province also has to pay its “fair share.”

Ford has previously said he is disappointed with how the federal government has handled the issue since the province didn’t make those production subsidy commitments, but says he is working with officials in Ottawa.

The premier says today that Ontario is putting more money on the table, though he wouldn’t say how much, in order to protect jobs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

The Canadian Press