The head of the union local that represents workers at the General Motors CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., says switching to a military vehicle is one of the options under discussion to keep the facility operating.
Speaking on CBC’s London Morning on Wednesday, Unifor Local 88 plant chair Mike Van Boekel said producing a military vehicle at the plant has been raised in recent discussions with GM and the federal government about securing the facility’s future.
“I know they’re looking at a potential military vehicle that could come into our plant,” Van Boekel told host Andrew Brown. “I think they’re trying to get an agreement with GM to put something in here.”
Van Boekel said a military contract is one of a handful of options being examined to get the plant operating again.
London Morning8:04Checking in on the future of Ingersoll’s CAMI plant
It was a tough year at GM’s CAMI plant, with ongoing layoffs, a production shutdown, and now a transition in union leadership. Unifor Local 88 Plant Chair Mike Van Boekel is retiring after a 35-year career with CAMI. Van Boekel joined London Morning to look back on his time there and discuss what he thinks is next for the Ingersoll plant.
The federal Ministry of Industry, which formed a working group with GM, the union and the provincial government when operations at the plant ended in October, said investment in defence is a current priority.
In a statement sent to CBC News Wednesday, ministry spokesperson Riyadh Nazerally wrote that government officials routinely talk to companies, including in the automotive sector, but would not confirm Van Boekel’s assertions.
“Conversations and details relating to discussions between government officials relating to future business ventures are subject to commercial confidentiality and cannot be disclosed,” Nazerally said.
Van Boekel also acknowledged that he knew few details about what kind of vehicle could potentially be produced at the plant.
“It’s pretty secretive,” he said. “It looks like there’s a market for it — we just need a green light from the government to go ahead and do it.”
Plant idle since spring this year
In a statement to CBC News, GM spokesperson Ariane Pereira said the company is looking at different options for the plant, but did not address the question of whether a switch to produce a military vehicle is possible.
“As CAMI Assembly is assessed for future opportunities, GM remains focused on supporting our people and investing the time necessary for collaboration that will deliver better outcomes for our people, our communities and our customers,” the statement said.
CBC News also asked for comment from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, but had not received a response by Wednesday afternoon.
The plant, which employs 1,200 workers, has been idle since April of last year when GM paused production of the BrightDrop electric delivery vehicle. At the time the company said they planned to re-start in the fall at half capacity.
However, in October, GM announced that production of the BrightDrop would stop altogether due to low market demand, throwing the plant’s future into doubt.
The plant and scores of businesses that support auto assembly are crucial to the local economy of Ingersoll, a town of just under 14,000 people located 40 kilometres east of London.
Millions in government funding invested
The federal and provincial governments invested more than $500 million in 2022 to support the plant to switch to building the BrightDrop. At the time, it was touted as an investment that would support the switch to electric vehicles and meet the need of last-mile delivery and e-commerce.
Prior to the BrightDrop, the plant produced the Chevy Equinox SUV.
So how likely is it that the plant could now transition again, this time to produce a military vehicle?
Heather Pilot is president of Pilot Hill Ltd., a company that puts on an annual defence industry conference in London.
She said that with Canada moving to increase defence spending and a changing relationship with the United States, new players are coming into the defence field.
“I noticed a convergence this year at my conference of companies that came from automotive, from critical minerals, oil and gas, mining, apart from the usual aerospace, defence and maritime defence components of the conference,” she said.
“‘Dual use’ is a term that’s being used frequently these days, from technologies to products that have application for defence,” she said. “And so a vehicle that can be equipped for military use could be of interest for sure. I don’t have any knowledge of that but it’s something they could be potentially looking at.”
‘Which vehicle will they be switching to?’
Jordan Miller, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said Canada’s appetite to spend on defence has grown with the changing relationship with the United States under President Donald Trump.
Miller has “cautious optimism” that a military product could work for the plant, but said there are a lot of missing details.
“The factory is there, the workforce is there, but it feels a bit premature to conclude one way or the other without knowing if there’s more behind this,” said Miller.
“Ontario has a thriving manufacturing sector, especially in the auto sector, so if those jobs could be saved by retooling the factory from one application to another, that would be great. The question now is which vehicle will they be switching to?”