Subsidizing big business: Canada’s new green industrial policy

Last week, Volkswagen announced it will build its first overseas electric vehicle battery gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario. The federal and provincial governments declined to say what they’d paid to lure Volkswagen to Canada rather than the U.S. but the Financial Times reported the price was around $15 billion. That’s a lot of public money going to subsidize a private company, even one that will support thousands of jobs. So this week, on “It’s Political” we take a look at what’s driving the case for big subsidies, and how Canada is adopting a green new industrial policy with little public debate.

First, we’ll hear from stakeholders and experts on the impact of the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, and what it could mean here, north of the U.S. border.

Then, we’ll sit down with the man some have dubbed Canada’s energizer bunny, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

In this episode: Minister Champagne, Lana Payne, the national president of Unifor, Matt Poirier, senior policy director with the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, John Lester, an executive fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, Marisa Beck,  director of Clean Growth with the Canadian Climate Institute, Jean Simard, the president and CEO of the Aluminum Association of Canada, Brian Kingston, the president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, and Genevieve Dufour, a professor of trade law at the University of Sherbrooke. Hosted by Althia Raj

Some of the clips this week were sourced from: CPAC, the House of Commons, The White House, CTV, CBC, The Andrew Lawton Show, Street Sport Television Car show and PBS.

“It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Sean Pattendon mixed the program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.