Canada, Ontario Governments Kick in Millions for Toyota Plant Upgrades

by Aaron Cole

Updated: December 31st, 2020 Published: July 31st, 2015

Federal and provincial governments in Canada have offered more than $100 million (USD $77 million) for improvements to the Cambridge and Woodstock plants, CTV news is reporting.

The incentives are part of a $421 million (USD $323 million) investment that will be used for light metal stamping in Woodstock, which makes the RAV4, and plant improvements in Cambridge, which produces the soon-to-be-gone Toyota Corolla and Lexus RX vehicles. Toyota has said it will move the Corolla to Mexico, but hasn’t announced what would replace it at the Cambridge plant.

The Canadian government tipped in $34 million in 2013 for improvements to the Cambridge plant to produce the RX 450h.

Toyota’s announcement may be welcome news for Ontario’s car-building complex. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne recently told media in Toronto that building cars in Canada is becoming more expensive, and former Oshawa mayor John Gray calling for a GM boycott if the automaker doesn’t replace the Camaro when production ends in November.

Both Volvo and Land Rover have opted to build plants in Southern U.S. states that could potentially offer more in incentives than Canada’s most populous province, which is heaping more public debt on itself through public infrastructure projects.

The announcement could also signal a better working relationship between the governments and automakers. FCA may be looking for incentives as it prepares to make a $1 billion decision on its Brampton plant, which produces the Dodge Challenger, Charger and Chrysler 300.

Marchionne asked federal and provincial governments in 2014 for incentives to retool the company’s Windsor plant that produces minivans. After a contentious public debate over the size of the financial package requested, FCA decided to go it alone. The future of the Brampton plant, which will also require funding to finance retooling for the next-generation rear-wheel drive sedans, is uncertain.

#Brampton #Cambridge #Canada #Lexus #Oshawa #Toyota #Windsor #Woodstock

Aaron Cole

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Big Al from Oz on Jul 31, 2015

What a shameful socialist display. What a waste of tax payer dollars. I suppose the poor slob who is a carpenter, plumber, even a small restaurant would not have access to money to buy new hammers, shovels and pots. I suppose it comes down to large socialist labour and business reliant on sucking the life out of others for their own selfish means. The money could be better spent or taxes reduced, then maybe people would have more to spend, increasing the economy with greater efficiency. Like the great Iron Lady, Margret Thatcher stated, socialism is viable until everyone else money is spent. Industrial welfare is a negative and only socialists and the ultra greedy lazy fncks will support it.

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- Lou_BC on Jul 31, 2015
  
  Big Al from Oz - it has little to do with socialist ideology. There are several factors at play. It is a case of bribing vote rich Ontario pre-federal election. The so called Conservatives fear loosing so they throw a bone to auto manufacturing. Another part of that picture is the current Conservative government wants to run an election on their management of the economy versus the inexperience of the opposing Liberals. Socialism at work? LMFAO Politics of power or more specifically, the manipulation of the optics of power.
  
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- Big Al from Oz on Jul 31, 2015
  
  @Lou_BC Lou, The Conservatives are the lazy greedy fncks I speak of. I really do believe much money that is spent on industrial welfare could be better spent. Why should the taxpayer buy what is essentially tools for a business? Business become reliant on these handouts and inefficiencies become more ingrained, then it becomes harder to wean the business off of welfare. This is not a win-win situation.
  
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- Lou_BC on Aug 01, 2015
  
  Big Al from Oz - I'd rather not see corporate welfare but as we know, that is how the game is played. I'm sure there are more fitting words that "socialism" to cover that sort of pandering.
  
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- Bd2 on Aug 04, 2015
  
  How can taxes be reduced on individuals/families when taxes keep being reduced (thru various means) on big corporations? And frankly, taxes cannot be reduced on individuals/families as both the US and Canada (more so for the US) is way behind in upgrading, much less maintaining its infrastructure - need to maintain bridges, roads and tunnels, need to put in new water pipes, need to shore up tens of thousands of dams and levees, and that's not even talking about upgrading the antiquated power grid. And oh, Thatcher and Reagan were wrong when it came to over-deregulation and lack of proper oversight. Look at how the finance sector on both sides of the pond tanked the economies of the US and the UK through their malfeasance/greed.
  
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- Bd2 on Aug 04, 2015
  
  @Lou_BC Plutocracy - the same thing is happening whether it is in the US, Canada, China, Russia, etc.
  
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Superdessucke on Aug 01, 2015

Easy math. If requested incentive is less than the annual cost to supplement a Wal Mart worker × # of workers x actuarily calculated remaining life expectancy of the plant's workforce you give the incentive. If not you don't.

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