The construction of Volkswagen’s mega-factory of batteries for electric vehicles requires the provision of 700 megawatts of electricity and a huge area equivalent to 1,400 football pitches.
Quebec is Canada’s power generation kingdom and the largest Canadian province by area, covering almost 1.67 million km2 or 15% of Canada’s territory, which is three times the area of France.
How could we lose Volkswagen’s mega battery factory to Ontario when Quebec is the country’s largest electricity producer and by far the cheapest?
The average electricity price for large electricity customers (industrial) in 2022 was 5.33 cents per kWh in Montreal, compared to 9.76 cents in Toronto. We’re talking about a staggering price difference where electricity in the greater Montreal area costs 45% less than in Toronto. We agree that this huge cost differential in favor of Quebec applies to all regions of Quebec and Ontario.
Now to the question of the huge land that Volkswagen needs to set up its mega battery factory there. Nobody will ever make me believe that Quebec, with an area 1.55 times larger than Ontario, could not “offer” a location that meets the requirements of the German car manufacturer.
The determining factor
So what happened that the great industrial regions of Quebec were beaten by the small town of St. Thomas, Ontario, 110 miles from Toronto?
Don’t look for noon until two o’clock. While François Legault’s government seemed unenthusiastic about its chances of bringing Volkswagen’s fabulous multi-billion dollar factory to Quebec, Doug Ford’s government struggled to win.
So…if Volkswagen chose to build its battery plant in Ontario to the detriment of Quebec, it’s simply because Doug Ford’s Ontario government worked extremely hard to convince the Volkswagen bigwigs to vote for his province .
Crucial encounters
In his Saturday file “St. Thomas, the small town that beat Quebec,” my colleague Francis Halin recalled of the seven crucial meetings that allowed Volkswagen to close its famous deal with the Ontario government.
While the first key meeting dates back to April 27, 2022, it should be noted that Premier Doug Ford was present (in person) at the last four key meetings.
Important bracket: Halin states in his filing that as of October 2022 there have been consecutive weekly meetings between representatives of the Ontario government and those of Volkswagen.
Quebec’s reasons
The reasons given by the Legault government and its minister, Pierre Fitzgibbon, for Quebec not being able to respond in a timely manner to Volkswagen’s power, land and labor needs do not seem convincing to me.
In this case, Doug Ford beat François Legault hands down simply because he worked harder. final point!
