The future of the Canadian electric vehicle industry was the focus of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to Windsor-Essex on Thursday.
After meeting with union leaders earlier in the day, Trudeau stopped by the under-construction EV battery plant in east Windsor for an update tour.
He toured the plant's module building, where he was given a progress report on the construction and the hiring process. He also watched a demonstration of the production process and met with employees and plant management.
When the plant is completed later this summer, the NextStar plant will have 2,500 jobs.
Trudeau told union leaders at a private meeting before the tour that the federal government is well-invested in the new industry, which proponents say will transform the Canadian auto industry.
"We're going to continue to make sure that people understand that EVs are a part of the future in every possible way," said Trudeau. "We're always going to look at ways of making sure they are affordable for people even as we build the industry."
The NextStar plant, a joint venture of Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions, will have an annual capacity of 49.5 gigawatt hours.
-with files from Maureen Revait
