Unifor approves $1 billion General Motors deal to build electric vans in Ontario

Photo: The Canadian Press

Unifor members have voted to approve General Motors Canada's plan to invest $1 billion in an electric vehicle plant in southern Ontario.

The national union's 1,900 Local 88 members voted online Sunday on a tentative deal with the automaker to transform GM's CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., into a hub for producing electric commercial delivery vans.

The union says about 91 per cent of worker votes were in favour of the deal, and that work will begin immediately to ready the plant to begin van production in November.

The industry has been hit hard over the last decade as automakers cut jobs in the province and production work flowed to the U.S. and Mexico.

Unifor has spent much of the last year striking deals with GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler that will pump $6 billion into Canada's auto manufacturing industry.

With the Ingersoll plant wrapping up Chevrolet Equinox production in 2023, the plan also comes as GM is trying to transform its business to focus more on electric vehicles.