The Government of Canada invests more than $100mn to support steel workers
The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, has officially announced a CAN$40mn investment in a $112.6mn project which will create 35 jobs and maintain more than 2,100 more in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Red Deer, Alberta.
The Government of Canada has expressed its desire to stand with hard-working steel and aluminium workers, their families and their communities, and will deliver on its commitment to support the steel manufacturing sector and its workers. In 2017, the Canadian steel industry employed more than 23,000 Canadians and contributed $4.2bn to Canada's gross domestic product, becoming a vital supplier to the country’s manufacturing, energy, automotive and construction industries.
The multimillion dollar investment will help western Canada’s largest steel business, EVRAZ North America Inc. to make numerous upgrades to its facilities and increase its competitiveness in serving the oil country tubular goods (OCTG) market while decreasing emissions and the overall carbon footprint of Canadian steel. This will enable the company to produce valued-added OCTG products that match Canadian market demand and make them available at a competitive price to Canadian resource firms that, like EVRAZ, are facing shortages owing to the cost-prohibitive effects of U.S. tariffs.
The government's investments in Canada's world-class steel and aluminium producers, such as EVRAZ, Algoma Steel Inc., ArcelorMittal, Alcoa Corporation and Rio Tinto Aluminum, are ensuring they continue to provide thousands of Canadians with good middle-class jobs and remain important contributors to our economy and manufacturing supply chains.
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"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,” stated The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
"Canadian steel producers and workers form the economic backbone of communities across our country. In the face of unfair and unjust US tariffs, our government is keeping its promise to support Canada's steel producers and their thousands of workers. This investment will support 2,100 jobs at EVRAZ and help it upgrade its facilities to become more competitive and expand its market reach,” added The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
The investment is being made through the Strategic Innovation Fund, a programme designed to attract and support high-quality business investments. The fund will accelerate research and development opportunities, where innovative technologies wil lead to the commercialisation of innovative products, processes, and services. It will also work to facilitate the growth and expansion of Canadian firms, attract large scale investments and enable the advancement in industrial research, development and technology.
Through the fund, a Fall Economic Statement has proposed to provide an additional $800mn over five years to the Strategic Innovation Fund to support innovation across all economic sectors in Canada. The programme is part of The the Innovation and Skills Plan which will work to boost the skillset of workers, enable the development of new and existing talent and provide further support to the Canadian workforce.