PM, premier attend unveiling of full-scale electric vehicle plant in Ingersoll, Ont.
Designed for deliveries, a fully electric commercial vehicle — the first of its kind — rolled off the CAMI line Monday in Ingersoll, with both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford in attendance.
On Monday, Trudeau, Ford and Ontario’s Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli attended the milestone event in Ingersoll that unveiled Canada’s first full-scale electric vehicle plant.
"The future's here and it's just a great day,” said Mike Van Boekel, Unifor 88 plant chair.
Van Boekel admitted there was some uncertainty surrounding moving away from the production of highly successful Chevy Equinox models, with GM investing $1 billion to retrofit the plant for EV production.
The provincial and federal governments each invested $259 million toward GM's $2-billion plan to transform its Ingersoll plant and overhaul its Oshawa, Ont., plant to make it EV-ready.
"There was a lot of trepidation two years ago. A lot of people weren’t sure. I think, up to six months ago some people were very anxious,” he explained. “But it's proven to be the right choice."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at CAMI in Ingersoll, Ont. on Dec. 5, 2022. (Jim Knight/CTV News London)
The plant rolled its last Equinox off the line at the end of April and shut down for a retrofit in May. Seven months later, large battery packs were being fitted to frames nicknamed “skateboards” for the new vehicles.
"It was intense. It was a challenge,” said Marissa West, GM Canada president.
West credits the CAMI workforce for making the change happen.
"It's a really [good] indication of the amount of innovation and the speed and flexibility that the team is capable of,” she said.
West added that they’re making investments across Canada geared towards EV battery development and EV manufacturing.
Premier Doug Ford speaks at CAMI in Ingersoll, Ont. on Dec. 5, 2022. (Jim Knight/CTV News London)
"GM is 100 per cent committed to our all electric future,” she said. “This product is going to be here for a very long time."
DHL has already signed on for delivery of the vehicles and both FedEx and Walmart are also in the pipeline to use the all-electric BrightDrop vehicles in Ingersoll.
The federal government says the Ingersoll plant is expected to manufacture 50,000 electric vehicles by 2025.
Canada intends to bar the sale of new internal-combustion engines in passenger vehicles by 2035.
— With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.