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On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne were at a Toyota factory in Cambridge, Ont., to announce a $1.4-billion boost for the province’s auto manufacturing industry.
Trudeau mentioned that both the Canadian and Ontario governments will each contribute $110 million.
Toyota said it plans to invest this money into its Cambridge North plant and its West plant in Woodstock, Ont., aiming to increase flexibility in vehicle production. The company also intends to spend $200 million on Canadian research and development over the next decade.
Changes in production
The Woodstock, Ont., facility currently produces Toyota’s RAV4.
The Cambridge plant will switch focus to building the RAV4 after Corolla production-which now happens there-moves eventually to a factory in Alabama. Toyota noted that over 4 million Corollas have been made at the Cambridge site so far.
Trudeau said this investment will secure about 8,000 existing jobs and create around 450 new positions. He added that the funding will help keep Canada’s auto sector competitive.
Wynne said Toyota’s decision makes Cambridge and Woodstock central spots for RAV4 manufacturing and shows “a vote of confidence” in their workers at these plants.
Toyota also assembles Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h models at another location in Cambridge.
With new NAFTA talks set to start next week, the auto industry has been a big topic-especially when it comes to rules about North American content.
Toyota had initially planned to shift Corolla production to Mexico but changed course after U. S. President Donald Trump threatened a “border tax” on vehicles imported into the U. S. In January 2018, Toyota announced they’d build a redesigned Corolla at a new joint venture plant with Mazda in Huntsville, Ala., scheduled to open in 2021.
