With the announcement Monday that Volkswagen has chosen St. Thomas as the site for first overseas gigafactory for battery cell manufacturing, Mayor Joe Preston proclaimed the city has secured its future.
He confidently made that claim at a media conference held at city hall prior to the scheduled council meeting.
Preston gave an indication of just how massive the undertaking will be for St. Thomas and the entire province.
He pointed out St. Thomas and Ontario as a whole will benefit for years to come from the Volkswagen investment.
Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack called the announcement a game-changer.
He added the benefits include economic development, sustainable jobs and a made-in-Canada solution for the use of Canada’s natural resources.
“We’re not just going to ship our natural resources elsewhere, we’re going to create jobs and create a long-term economy.”
Flack added St. Thomas was in competition with 90 sites globally and it came down to 40 sites in the U.S.
“It was intense competition,” assured Flack.
And Volkswagen chose us, beamed Preston.
He stressed, “this is about a regional win.”
MP Karen Vecchio added, “the impact of this on communities is going to be phenomenal. We will be able to have sustainable jobs into the future. I am so proud of what this council has done.”
Written by Ian McCallum
