Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is facing criticism after incorrectly claiming the Ford Model T was not a success, while defending Ottawa’s $52 billion electric vehicle subsidy strategy.
Blacklock’s Reporter says Champagne made the remarks during heated Commons committee questioning over the federal government’s massive spending on electric vehicle projects, many of which have faced delays, layoffs or uncertainty.
A new book by award-winning Swedish investigative journalist Gunnar Lindstedt alleges there was a culture of deception, financial mismanagement and regulatory failure at the heart of the bankrupt Swedish battery giant Northvolt.
Released yesterday, The Northvolt Case (Northvoltfallet) reveals that Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority (Ekobrottsmyndigheten) has quietly opened a formal investigation into the company for alleged tax evasion, accounting fraud and even potential fraud by deception (svindleri). These are allegations that, if proven, could implicate not just the company’s leadership but its auditors and board members as well.
Quebec declares Northvolt battery plant partnership dead, loses $270M investment
Honda Motor on Thursday reported its first annual loss since becoming a publicly traded company in Japan seven decades ago, as the costly retreat from its ambitious electric-vehicle targets plunged earnings into the red.
The Japanese automaker reported a net loss of $2.7 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31. Earnings were weighed down by more than $9 billion in restructuring charges and write-downs following a retrenchment of its E.V. strategy. It is the first loss that the 77-year-old company has reported since listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1957.
With our new National Electricity Strategy, we will power Canada strong with clean, affordable, reliable energy. pic.twitter.com/jLUcFMcGBn
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) May 14, 2026
Attempts by the federal and provincial governments to create an electric vehicle supply chain in Canada through massive taxpayer-financed public subsidies have turned into a disaster.
Not to worry Carney’s ChiCom pals will save us!
The bad news is that Honda isn’t expanding its operations in Alliston to build an electric vehicle plant. The good news is that no government money has been handed over despite a promise of up to $5 billion when the project was announced two years ago.
The announcement on April 25, 2024, promised a $15-billion investment from Honda for a new EV assembly line and a battery plant. The federal government promised up to $2.5 billion in production tax credits and the provincial government promised up to another $2.5 billion in support.
Wednesday’s report from the financial news site Nikkei Asia that Honda has suspended its plan to build a $15-billion electric vehicle plant in Ontario indefinitely comes as no surprise — particularly not to the federal government, which was told in January, sources say.
The big picture is that Canada’s ambitious gamble to be the locus for North American electric vehicle production has flopped and the battle now is to conserve the assembly plants that are already here.
OTTAWA — Conservatives are blaming the federal government’s electric vehicle strategy after reports that Honda is indefinitely suspending plans for a $15 billion electric vehicle project in Ontario.
Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged Wednesday that Canada’s auto sector is facing pressure from U.S. tariffs, though he did not directly address the Honda reports.
Honda is abandoning plans to build a $15-billion EV plant in Ontario because of slumping demand, according to a report by Nikkei, Japan’s leading business publication.
Honda neither confirmed nor denied the report.
“The content of the article was not released by Honda, and we have nothing to report at this time,” the company said in a written statement.
More … The EV Bust Claims Five More Victims… and They Aren’t Even EVs?
Honda’s failed bet on electric vehicles means the Japanese auto giant will have to stretch the lifecycles of five top-selling vehicles “in some cases to more than a decade,” according to a supplier memo seen by Automotive News.
What’s the deal with electric cars? Am I right?
Jerry Seinfeld has a lot of opinions about cars. If you know much about him, you know he loves classic cars, particularly Porsches. So, it’s hardly surprising that when it comes to electric cars, he’s not so enthusiastic.
Canada’s auto sector is warning that a federal decision to ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles could undermine domestic manufacturing and weaken North American supply chains, as executives say the policy puts Canadian jobs at risk.
The concerns were raised at a Commons science committee hearing after cabinet approved a quota allowing up to 49,000 Chinese-made battery electric vehicles into the Canadian market this year at reduced tariff levels, with the cap set to increase by 6.5% annually.
With thanks to whoever retweeted this story from 2024. Seems relevant. @MarkJCarney @cafreeland @ISED_CA @environmentca #ElectricVehicles https://t.co/Flir0E3081
— Holly Doan (@hollyanndoan) April 25, 2026
A Quebec woman whose new electric vehicle was in and out of the shop for 16 months says the first-in-Canada anti-lemon law doesn’t go far enough.
“I find that it’s protecting more the companies than the actual consumer that’s buying the car,” said Natalina Recine.
Her ordeal began when she bought her new Chevrolet Equinox EV at Le Relais Chevrolet, Buick, GMC in Montreal in December 2024.
Electric cars made by a best-selling Chinese brand are recording drivers’ every journey and storing them forever, it has emerged.
Security researchers were able to extract the entire location history of a BYD Seal car sold in the UK, from its production in China to its eventual dismantling.
While the company said it was not transmitting location data overseas, experts said the ease with which location history could be obtained represented a security risk.
BYD is moving into the Canadian market.
Federal departments spent millions installing electric vehicle charging stations across government properties, but usage data shows many of the chargers are rarely used, with some sitting idle and others averaging fewer than one vehicle per day.
Blacklock’s Reporter says records tabled in the House of Commons show Natural Resources Canada could not provide a full breakdown of total spending per charger by location, despite overseeing a large portion of the rollout.
I do like to follow up and keep you all on top of where things stand with some of the previous stories I’ve covered. Sometimes, it’s true, there’s not much to write about because whatever happened happened and then they lie there like a dead bug until they shrivel and go away of their own accord.
In other cases, there can be happier resolutions, which is always cheerful news, but those are admittedly rare.
Keeping an eye on …
REDACTED: City of Brampton’s $4-billion electric bus deal …
A federal electric vehicle rebate program is drawing scrutiny after records show the Dodge Charger will soon be the only Canadian-made vehicle eligible for incentives without a price cap.
Blacklock’s Reporter says documents tabled in the House of Commons by the Department of Transport indicate that, by year’s end, the Charger — built in Windsor, Ont. — will stand alone in qualifying for rebates on vehicles priced above $50,000.
