(Ottawa) The three-day visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week marks a turning point in relations between Canada and Germany.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
It made it possible to lay the foundations for a solid rapprochement between the two countries on three fronts: political, economic and energy.
Germany is Europe’s largest economy. Alongside France, it has a considerable influence on the positions adopted by the European Union. But in the circles of power in Ottawa, priority has always been given, in order, to the United States, which remains by far Canada’s most important trading partner, to Great Britain and then to France. Germany appeared very far on the radar, even if the “Deutschland” is, since 2007, the fourth economic power of the planet behind the United States, China and Japan.
As proof, when Minister François-Philippe Champagne asked officials from his ministry in March to prepare an information book and a list of telephone numbers of the leaders of large German companies in anticipation of a commercial tour that he wanted to perform in May, it was the commotion. After a few days, we were struggling to find the information he was asking for. At one point, it was suggested to him, among other things, to dial 1 800 Volkswagen to succeed in obtaining the desired information about the members of the management of this automotive giant, it is said behind the scenes.
“Germany was not really on the radar at the ministry,” said a government source who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity.
“Minister Champagne organized a week-long visit to Germany and he said to the ministry: you are welcome if you want to follow me! It is through the contacts he has in Europe that he has managed to develop all this,” added this source, stressing that Mr. Champagne has spent nearly 20 years in Europe.
Trade mission
In one week, Minister Champagne and his retinue traveled to five cities to plead Canada’s cause before German business people. He notably went to Berlin, to Wolfsburg, where Volkswagen’s head office is located, to Stuttgart to meet the leaders of Mercedes-Benz and to Munich (BMW).
Why did he decide to carry out such a trade mission? His close collaborators had sent him a text from the daily The New York Times in March in which it was explained that the major industries of Germany intended to accelerate the pace in order to green their supply chain.
“When I went to Germany, I had a message: I understand your decarbonization issue. […] Canada is part of the solution. We have the third largest corridor, that is Windsor-Detroit, after China and Germany. We have the talent. We have more than 500,000 people working in the automotive sector. We have natural resources, renewable energy and I have access to 1.5 billion consumers without customs duties thanks to free trade agreements,” the Minister pointed out to his interlocutors.
This message did not fall on deaf ears. Subsequent meetings were held with automaker executives in June at the Davos summit. Text messages have increased. Calls too. Four months later, the fruit of these efforts was harvested.
Agreements
Last Tuesday, the Canadian government signed separate agreements with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz that will allow the two German automakers to access Canadian raw materials (cobalt, graphite, nickel and lithium) for electric vehicle batteries. . Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz participated in the signing ceremony in Toronto.
The next day, Mr. Trudeau and his German counterpart signed another agreement in Stephenville, Newfoundland, this time on the production of green hydrogen and the creation of a transatlantic supply chain starting in 2025. Germany is banking on this clean energy to decarbonize its economy and free itself from its dependence on Russia and its natural gas.
“The Germans also now see Canada as a partner of choice, a serious partner and a strategic partner. It’s up to us now to make that happen,” explained Minister Champagne in an interview with The Press.
The one that many in the Liberal ranks nicknamed the “Energizer Rabbit” maintains that these agreements send a powerful message to foreign investors.
“When you have big manufacturers like this coming to Canada, it sends a message to the rest of the world: Canada is a key player in the green automotive supply chain of the future,” he said. he advanced.
“We imagined the ecosystem of electric vehicle batteries. We built it. We did it with Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon in Quebec and we did it in Ontario as well. And now, we are in the process of optimizing it, ”he said.
In July, Mr. Champagne traveled to Japan to deliver the same message to business people. We will know in less than three weeks, when he welcomes a Japanese delegation to Ottawa, if he will have succeeded in concluding “a deal” again, to use an expression of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when speaking of the power of persuasion of his minister when Moderna decided to open a factory in Quebec.