Joe Biden’s Push to Counter China Steers EV Investments to Canada

TORONTO—Multinational companies are pumping billions of dollars into Canada’s electric-vehicle manufacturing sector, lured by government incentives, access to raw materials and cheap renewable energy.

In the latest sign of interest in the country, German auto maker Volkswagen Group announced last week that it had chosen a site in the province of Ontario to build its first battery-cell plant outside Europe. A company spokesman declined to provide specifics about the investment, but Canada’s industry minister said the investment, in the town of St. Thomas, 120 miles northeast of Detroit, could rank as the largest ever made in Canada’s auto sector.