The government of Canada is investing $40 million into a project that will create 35 new jobs and maintain more than 2,100 current jobs in Western Canada, including Regina.
The $112.6 million project will see numerous upgrades to the Evraz North America Inc. facilities and increase its competitiveness when serving the oil country tubular goods (OCTG) market.
It will also focus on decreasing emissions and the overall carbon footprint on Canadian steel.
“We committed to standing shoulder to shoulder with Canadian steel workers and supporting the innovative, world-class products they produce. We are delivering,” said Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness.
“Our investment in Evraz will help strengthen the competitiveness of Regina’s steel plant for years to come, maintain Canada’s position in the global market and support middle-class jobs for Canadians.”
The investment will allow Evraz to produce OCTG products that match market demand in Canada and make them available at competitive prices to the country’s resource firms that face shortages due to the impact of U.S. tariffs.
“Canadian steel producers and workers form the economic backbone of communities across our country,” said Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development.
“In the face of unfair and unjust U.S. tariffs, our government is keeping its promise to support Canada’s steel producers and their thousands of workers.”
The U.S. tariffs have also impacted the American-based Evraz facilities.
“We have quite a bit of U.S. steel facilities and there is a lot of steel that often heads to Canada and that has also been essentially reduced or cut off and has had a very significant impact on our business,” said Conrad Winkler, Evraz CEO and president.
EVRAZ is the largest steel company in Western Canada, providing steel plate and coil, small- and large-diameter pipe, and oil and gas well tubing for the energy sector.