Feds, Ontario ante up millions to produce electric vehicles at Ford's Oakville plant

The federal and Ontario governments are each chipping in more than $250 million to mass produce electric vehicles and the batteries that power them at Ford Motor Co.'s plant in Oakville, Ont.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are to announce the joint investment today.

It is part of a three-year agreement worth nearly $2 billion that was announced last month between the automaker and Unifor, the union that represents autoworkers in Canada.

The Oakville plant employs 3,400 Ford workers and Unifor president Jerry Dias has said retooling the plant to produce electric vehicles will save 3,000 of those jobs.

From the Liberal government's perspective, the investment will not only help secure good-paying jobs in the struggling auto sector.

The investment is also part of the government's commitment to invest in the transition to a clean, renewable-energy economy, with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

It has already committed more than $300 million to create a network of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles across the country.

And it is providing incentives of up to $5,000 off the price of purchasing or leasing electric and hybrid vehicles.