2023-09-28 18:42:52
The Trudeau and Legault governments took out the checkbook to convince the Swedish company NorthVolt to build its battery cell mega-factory in Quebec. Together, they immediately raise nearly 3 billion Canadian dollars for the project, which will be a pillar of the battery sector here. The total aid granted might be even greater, thanks to operational subsidies.
“This is the largest manufacturing investment in the history of Quebec,” underlined the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, moved by the realization of the NorthVolt project, which represents a private investment of 7 billion dollars. Mr. Legault and the federal Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, were present in Montreal to make the announcement.
The Swedish company will be able to count on an investment of 1.34 billion dollars from Ottawa and 1.37 billion from Quebec to set up the factory, which will see the light of day in Saint-Basile- le-Grand and McMasterville, in Montérégie.
To this initial envelope will be added “production incentives”, which will be available to Northvolt once it is operational, from 2026. These incentives represent another 4.6 billion dollars – a third of which would be paid by the government of Quebec, which represents approximately 1.5 billion.
Both levels of government justify this additional assistance as an amount equivalent to the credit for advanced manufacturing production provided for in the United States Inflation Reduction Act, to which NorthVolt would have been entitled if it had chosen to build its factory south of the border. .
Opposition criticism
Even before the official announcement, the scale of the sums involved was criticized by opposition parties in Quebec. The Liberal economy spokesperson, Fred Beauchemin, estimated that the Legault government should have focused its aid on Quebec SMEs.
“Why don’t we help our SMEs, precisely, to stand out from the crowd and be able to be the next Couche-Tard. »
At the Parti Québécois (PQ), Joël Arseneau questions the relevance of such an investment in a context of labor shortage. “He is preparing to create thousands of jobs for workers we don’t have. »
The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, believes that there is “no guarantee” that the project will be profitable for Quebec taxpayers or that it will help reduce greenhouse gases.
With The Canadian Press
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