Ottawa and Quebec should support Canadian companies before giving subsidies to foreign companies to develop the battery sector, argues the big boss of the National Bank.
Laurent Ferreira is “not a big fan of subsidies to attract foreign companies to the country”. He made his opinion known in front of 1,300 people from the business community during a speech on Thursday before the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM).
“In the long term, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tax Canadian companies more and give subsidies to Stellantis and Volkswagen,” he says.
The President and CEO of the Chamber, Michel Leblanc, seemed surprised by his guest’s comments. He mentioned that this type of government intervention enjoyed some support within the business community.
However, Mr. Leblanc jokingly pointed out that the two projects cited were in Ontario. “Okay, those are in Ontario, I definitely agree with you,” he said, causing laughter in the room.
In an interview on the sidelines of his speech, Mr. Ferreira clarified that this comment was also valid for subsidies to the battery sector deployed in Quebec.
The federal government and Quebec should instead prioritize support for Canadian businesses, believes the President and CEO of the National Bank. “My point on this is that when we give subsidies to foreign companies, they go directly into the pockets of foreign shareholders who are mainly not Canadian. I doubt this model, in the longer term, in wealth creation. »
He adds that the Canadian economy needs more investment in Canada. He refers to a comment from his chief economist, Stéfane Marion, who gave a presentation at the same event, according to which large Canadian pension plans were not investing enough in Canada.
Mr. Ferreira’s intervention comes at a time when governments are deploying billions of dollars to attract foreign companies into the battery sector.
Canada could spend nearly $13 billion on the Volkswagen project, which wants to build a battery factory for electric vehicles in St. Thomas, Ontario. Aid to Stellantis could reach 15 billion for its Windsor battery factory.
Quebec is not left out. Ottawa and Quebec have granted $640 million in aid for the Ford plant in Bécancour. That of GM-Posco, for its part, benefited from support of nearly 300 million from both levels of government.
The Legault government is reportedly on the verge of formalizing the construction of a project by Swedish cell manufacturer Northvolt in the Vallée-du-Richelieu and significant budgetary aid is anticipated.