Ontario insists EV subsidies not wasted as Ford Motor Co. plans gas trucks for Oakville

The Ontario government is insisting that billions of dollars spent attracting electric vehicle manufacturers to Ontario have not been wasted after the Ford Motor Company announced it would produce a gas-powered truck at a plant originally meant for zero-emissions vehicles.

On Thursday, the American auto giant said it would produce F-Series Super Duty trucks at its Oakville Assembly Complex beginning in summer 2026, with an electric version to follow “later this decade.”

The move means it won’t build a battery facility, according to the union, and will delay plans for electric vehicles.

The Trudeau and Ford governments have announced billions of dollars in incentives in recent years to bring electric vehicle makers to Ontario, pitching the province’s supply of rare metals and skilled labour as key reasons to relocate — along with generous tax-funded subsidies.

“We’ve seen huge worldwide increases in EV demand, huge Canadian increase in EV demand,” Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli said.

“So no, this is Ford acknowledging they’ve got a (gas-powered) product that they need another 100,000 made and there’s just no better place to make them than in Ontario.”

Honda, Volkswagen and Stellantis are among the companies to commit to long-term electric vehicle visions in Ontario.

Last year, Ford Motors was added to that list when it announced plans to spend $1.8 billion to transform the facility into a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing, including vehicle and battery pack assembly.

But, after planning to start EV production at the plant in 2025, the company said in April it was pushing that back to 2027 to give the consumer market more time to develop and allow for further development of EV battery technology.

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Now, it plans to keep focusing on gas-powered cars as its first priority in Oakville.

Fedeli said the decision to produce the F-Series Super Duty beginning in the summer of 2026 means unionized staff will be heading back to work sooner.

“This is great news from Ford — there’ll be 1,800 men and women going back to work a year earlier,” he said.

Fedeli said the announcement of plans for the Super Duty, followed by an electric version, will result in more investment and more jobs than before. He said the company’s initial $1.8 billion had jumped to $2.3 billion, with 400 more jobs for a new stamping plan and 150 new workers at a separate facility in Windsor.

“I think the heavy sales of the F-series trucks — it’s the number-one selling vehicle,” Fedeli explained.

In a press release Thursday, the company said demand for the Super Duty was so high that its U.S. facilities simply can’t keep up, prompting the decision to pivot Oakville to a gas vehicle and allowing it to reopen a year early.

“Super Duty is a vital tool for businesses and people around the world and, even with our Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant running flat out, we can’t meet the demand,” said Ford president and CEO Jim Farley.

“At the same time, we look forward to introducing three-row electric utility vehicles, leveraging our experience in three-row utility vehicles and our learnings as America’s No. 2 electric vehicle brand to deliver fantastic, profitable vehicles.”

Unifor, which represents Ford Motors workers at the Oakville plant welcomed the news.

“This new retooling plan for the Oakville plant addresses our union’s concerns with Ford Motor Company’s decision to delay new vehicle production for a period that was too long, too disruptive, and too harmful to accept,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne.

“Working with our local unions and company executives, we came to an agreement that will not only see our members back to work sooner, it protects our members’ jobs well into the future.”

Unifor said the pivot to produce the Super Duty would mean more jobs at a stamping facility but that the change would scrap previous plans to build batteries for electric vehicles at the site.

Fedeli said he remained confident the province’s strategy to position itself as a hub for electric vehicles was working and that big automakers were still ready to move to zero-emissions vehicles.

“These companies all around the world have mandates to move into electric vehicles, the shift is happening,” he said. “We’re very, very confident that we’re all making the right moves. Just in Ontario, they’ve invested $43 billion to make the move.”

— with files from The Canadian Press