The work will go to Alstom plants in Thunder Bay and Quebec.
THUNDER BAY — Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced over $4.7 billion for Alstom to build and repair over 300 Via Rail cars.
Carney made the announcement at the Alstom facility in Thunder Bay Thursday morning. The prime minister said the work will be done on 313 passenger rail cars for Via’s long-distance, regional and remote areas fleet.
An accompanying media release said the cars will be manufactured and assembled at Alstom facilities in Thunder Bay and La Pocatière, Que., with design and engineering work taking place in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que.
“For the first time in four decades, those cars will be produced and assembled and maintained in our country,” Carney said.
“Cars that used to be built in the United States will be built right here in Thunder Bay at Alstom.”
According to the federal government, it will be the first time in four decades that Via passenger cars will be built in Canada. Ottawa also claimed in its release that it is the “largest investment in Via Rail’s history and in Canadian intercity passenger rail in a generation.”
The contract will support nearly 700 jobs in Ontario and Quebec and generate more than $1.6 billion in economic benefits, the government said.
The contract will provide “a guaranteed 10 years of solid security for our members,” Unifor Local 1075 president Justin Roberts said, adding that he’s still awaiting all the details. Unifor represents hundreds of workers at the Thunder Bay Alstom plant.
“This one, specifically, is definitely going to result in the hiring of a couple hundred workers for sure in the immediate future, but only time will tell exactly how many members this will bring in.”
The company is also expected to use and expand its network of more than 900 Canadian suppliers in doing the work, while “maximizing the use of Canadian steel in structural assemblies, supports, and fabricated metal elements,” federal officials said in their release.
Some of the Via stock set to be replaced is more than 70 years old, the federal government said, adding that its long-distance, regional and remote fleet is nearing the end of its useful life.
“Replacing that aging fleet will deliver safer, more reliable, and more modern service for Canadians while creating good jobs and building more of what Canada needs at home,” the government release said.
Carney’s announcement comes as Canada and the United States remain locked in a trade war, with the latest round of negotiations breaking down Aug. 21.
The prime minister pulled Canadian negotiators back, saying that demands the U.S. brought to the table at the last minute would have undermined Canadian sovereignty.
— With files from Leith Dunick