Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has embarked on a week-long trip to Belgium and Germany, where he’ll attend the management conference of Volkswagen and the board meeting of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, among other gatherings.
The Volkswagen memorandum focused on deepening cooperation on battery manufacturing, materials and critical minerals. The German company promised to set up a Canadian office for its battery company, PowerCo. The Mercedes agreement had less-specific language about collaboration in the EV and battery supply chain.
Champagne said he’s been assuring companies that Canada is serious about levelling the playing field, as it promised to do in a budget update in early November.