QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Natural Resources
Battery Production and Innovation
October 9, 2025
Minister, thank you for joining us.
Last week you announced over $22 million in federal investment to support eight projects aimed at accelerating battery innovation and production capacity in Canada, including two in my home province of Quebec.
I do support our national ambition to become a global leader in the electric vehicle and battery supply chain; however, I remain concerned about the recent slowdown in EV sales and the potential impact on this emerging sector.
Could you provide us with an update on the total financial commitment that the government has made to this sector to date and share your projections in terms of return on investment, job creation and how we plan to maintain momentum in the face of current market headwinds?
Investments in EV plants would be under Minister Joly, the Minister of Industry, so I think that question is best directed to her.
What I can say is that this government is very committed to protecting the jobs we have in the current auto sector and building the infrastructure and capabilities for the industry as it evolves to include more electric vehicles.
We all know that, over time, the cost of electric vehicles is progressively dropping. It will lead to a gradual transition from combustion vehicles to electric vehicles. We need to work to make sure current jobs stay in Canada and future jobs come to Canada as we make that transition from a mostly combustion engine to a mix of combustion and electric vehicles.
Thank you for that. Maybe you can’t answer this question, but Quebec and Canada made a major bet on Northvolt with the federal government committing $1.43 billion toward the EV battery manufacturing facility in Quebec. As we know, Quebec has now withdrawn its funding and is reportedly facing a major loss of $270 million.
Could you tell us this: Have any federal funds already been disbursed to Northvolt, and are Canadian taxpayers currently on the hook for any future transfers under this agreement?
To my knowledge, no, but that is not my department. If you would like an answer to that, I can obtain a written answer for you.
