According to a recent article by Ward’s Auto, in order for Canada to remain a leader in both auto sales and manufacturing, several factors are seen as being critical to that future success. A key one, concerns a second bridge spanning the Detroit river between the Motor City and Windsor, designed to alleviate traffic on the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, as well as provide transport routes that don’t pass through residential areas.
The new bridge, with an expected budget of $4 billion, has faced a number of setbacks, including legal challenges from the Moroun family that owns and operates the Ambassador. Nevertheless, with both support from the Canadian government (which will provide much of the funding) as well as Michigan governor Rick Snyder, it is likely economic pressures will see the project go ahead, especially since trucks cannot use the Detroit-Windsor tunnel and the next nearest bridge able to carry truck traffic is the Blue Water Bridge, which spans Port Huron-Sarnia, some 100 km to the north.
The completion of the new bridge (which is currently being labelled as The New International Trade Crossing) would not only improve access between Michigan and Ontario but according to the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), would also lead to significant private investment as well as major job creation and retention. CAR noted that Michigan alone could gain as much as $130 million U.S. each year the new bridge was in operation.
On the Canadian side, the bridge could help keep Ontario relevant as a major manufacturing base for OEMs by further easing the flow of goods and services between the two countries.
Besides the bridge, Ken Lewenza, president of the Canadian Auto Workers’ union says that in order to remain competitive in the auto sector, Canada needs to have a national auto policy, similar to those employed in Brazil and Germany. He says such a program would help secure Canada’s future and prevent what he calls “a race to the bottom,” especially as manufacturers look increasingly to lower cost manufacturing areas such as Mexico in order to increase profit margins on the vehicles they produce.
Canada is expected to see an increase in vehicle manufacturing next year to 1.8 million units (up from 1.7 million this year), however, besides improving trade ties with the U.S., industry experts believe that further investment is needed to keep the country competitive. The federal government in Ottawa has announced that it will commit almost $34 million toward six research projects aimed at developing fuel saving technology. The program will centre around several Canadian universities with $19 million coming via Automotive Partnership Canada and a further $15 million direct from the auto industry, according to Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science and technology.
