An announcement on Thursday of the “largest investment in Canadian history” raised hopes of job security and technological advancement among Honda Canada workers in Alliston, and led to selfies with the country’s top political hitters.
“I think it’s great for somebody like myself. I’ve only been working at Honda for five years, so it’s a great opportunity for my future and possibly of my kids’ future,” said Angus resident Katrina Lawson, who works in line quality in the polymer department.
Lawson and Mulmur Township resident Clara Seston, an engineer in the paint equipment group, managed to squeeze in a photo with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following Thursday morning’s announcement at Honda's manufacturing facility New Tecumseth, located about 40 minutes southwest of Barrie.
Both Lawson and Seston said they were excited about both the prospect of job stability and progress as the facility grows and transitions to electric vehicles.
Described as a $15-billion investment by Honda, with support from the provincial and federal governments, the Alliston facility will grow from its current three plants to four as it retools to develop Canada’s first “comprehensive electric vehicle supply chain.”
The announcement also includes up to $5 billion in government assistance.
Honda's workforce will also grow by about 1,000 people from its current 4,200 employees.
“Today’s announcement is a historic investment by a manufacturer in the Canadian auto industry. It proudly honours the highly skilled associates who have earned a global reputation for manufacturing excellence and represents Honda’s recognition of the long-term attractiveness of the Canadian electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem,” said Jean Marc Leclerc, Honda Canada’s president and chief executive officer.
“This is a very big day for the region, the province and the country,” said Trudeau, who also gave a shout-out to the Honda workers who had assembled.
Premier Doug Ford said the jobs at the Honda facility can be multiplied by seven, with spinoff employment, as it adds to more than 28,000 related jobs.
“Ontario has what it takes to secure the jobs of the future as the world leader in electric vehicle manufacturing, with better jobs and bigger paycheques for our world-class workers,” Ford said.
By 2028, Honda will be operating what has been described as a world-class electric vehicle assembly plant — the first of its kind for Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
Alliston will be home to a new stand-alone battery manufacturing plant along with a cathode active material and precursor processing plant through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M Co. Ltd. and a separator plant through a joint venture partnership with Asahi Kasei Corporation.
In four years, it’s expected to produce up to 240,000 vehicles per year.
“It’s a very significant investment, the largest investment in Canadian history,” said Doug Downey, MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte and the province’s attorney general.
“The spinoff investment across our communities will benefit Simcoe County,” added Downey, who attended Thursday’s announcement as part of a large contingent of municipal, provincial and federal politicians.
New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross said he expects an explosive economic impact on the community of about 42,000 with the new positions and related jobs, as well as the positive effect on local businesses.
“People come from all over Simcoe County to work here. Honda’s a great corporate citizen. Between our hospital, Matthews House (Hospice), our community events going on, Honda’s always there to support local and always there to support our community,” he said.
“The fact that, with everybody competing in North America that wanted our business ... they chose New Tecumseth, Alliston, that’s a feather in our cap for all the residents that are here.”
Norcoss credited the community and town council’s relationships with helping to build on the local business.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Adam Hammell, who has been working at Honda for 12 years in production planning.
"With this investment, Honda is not only supporting additional jobs and growth in our region, but also helping build up and support healthy, vibrant communities," Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke said in a prepared statement.
Hammell is part of a large workforce that draws from Barrie, as well as across Simcoe County and the rest of the region.
“You can have a 30-year career here and change careers every five years because it’s so big, there’s so much going on, there’s so many departments — the sky’s really the limit,” said another worker.
Honda Canada was established in 1969 and followed with the construction of the Alliston plant in 1986 to its current capacity of producing 400,000 vehicles and 190,000 annually.
