Loyalist Township was hit with a figurative punch to the gut late last month when Umicore announced it was halting construction of its EV battery plant.
An empty field now sits at the corner of Taylor Kidd and County Rd 4, once the promised home of a $2.7 billion state-of-the-art production plant. Now the project is on an indefinite hiatus.
For the township, this saga really is the tale of two Julys. It was back on July 13, 2022 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an appearance at nearby Queen’s University to announce a $1.5 billion investment in the project. He was joined by representatives from Umicore who promised a new era was coming that would transform Loyalist Township into a major player in the electric vehicle parts manufacturing sector. Some 600 jobs were said to be on their way to the region within three years.
Optimism was in the air in that crowded Queen’s hallway-at least amongst the local media that was in attendance. There was quite a few national reporters on the scene as well, mostly there to ask Trudeau about the resignation of finance minister Bill Morneau just a few days prior. If memory recalls, there were at least seven or eight questions asked about this issue before anyone inquired about the actual announcement of the day.
Fast forward to July 26, 2024 and the project is now on hold. No fancy catered press conference. No visit from the leader of the country. No good feelings and a sense of endless horizons for the region. Just uncertainty.
When trying to piece together what the heck happened and how it all fell apart so quickly, it’s best to skip the comment section and consult an actual expert. CBC did that, seeking input from McMaster University engineering professor Greig Mordue.
His explanation is simply Canada tried to put the horse before the cart. Or perhaps more aptly, the battery before the electric vehicle.
“They wanted to be first, and that’s fine if you’re making a market but the reality of it is Canada’s auto industry is made up of suppliers or affiliates that of globally owned companies,” Mordue was quoted in a CBC article.
In announcing the pausing of the project, Umicore CEO Bart Sap referred to the fact that the demand for electric vehicles hasn’t grown as quickly as anticipated. While it does appear electric vehicles are coming, exactly when is proving harder to pinpoint.
if there’s any solace for Loyalist Township to be had, it’s that no one has uttered the word ‘cancelled’ when talking about the project. There may yet still be some juice in the battery, even if the metre is in the red. Stakeholders will just have to sit tight and hope for a brighter outlook come this fall.
-Adam Prudhomme