General Motors informed its St. Catharines, Ontario workforce that, subject to completing support agreements with federal and Ontario government partners, the company plans to invest at the plant to manufacture new Ultium electric drive units for GM’s fast-growing electric vehicle lineup.

This investment plan would be expected to support around 500 jobs at the St. Catharines facility and enable the production of more than 400,000 EV drive units a year.

“This is a time of historic transformation for our industry and with this significant investment, St. Catharines will play a critical role in our EV future,” said Marissa West, President and Managing Director of GM Canada. “The St. Catharines team produces engines and transmissions for many of GM’s most popular vehicles, including full-size trucks, SUVs and Corvette and we are very excited to announce our plans to supply critical drive units as well. This will support GM’s plans to build 1 million electric vehicles a year in North America by 2025.”

Historic investment

“The skill and dedication of Unifor members make Canada the clear choice to build electric vehicle propulsion systems,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “This historic investment secures GM St. Catharines’ place in an EV future and protects hundreds of good paying jobs.”

The drive units built at St. Catharines will be used in vehicles built on GM’s flexible EV architecture, called Ultium. 2023 will be a breakout year for Ultium vehicles with the electric Cadillac LYRIQ the affordable Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and GMC HUMMER SUV EV all entering the North American market.

Recent GM investments

The new St. Catharines investment builds upon other recent GM Canada investments including a C$28 million Renewable Energy Cogeneration project at St. Catharines; Canada’s first large-scale EV plant in Ingersoll Ontario, now making the BrightDrop Zevo 600; a new Ultium CAM Cathode Active Materials facility now under construction in Bécancour, Quebec; expansion of GM’s Canadian Technology Centre in Oshawa and Markham, Ontario, including a new 55-acre CTC McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track and the recent reopening and return to three shifts of pickup production at Oshawa Assembly.

GM Canada is engaged with the Ontario and federal governments and expects to complete discussions later this year.