Canada to invest C$4.7 billion in domestic rail car production

Canada has pledged to invest C$4.7 billion ($3.41 billion) in the domestic production of VIA Rail passenger cars, Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed on Thursday. This marks the first time in four decades that the rail company's vehicles will be manufactured within Canada. During a news conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Carney announced that passenger cars previously constructed in the United States will now be produced at Alstom Canada's Thunder Bay facility.

The investment will finance the construction of 313 new-generation passenger cars and support approximately 700 jobs across Ontario and Quebec.

The announcement is a reflection of the escalating trade tensions between Canada and the United States. Canadian retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. annual imports are set to take effect on September 8. These measures are in response to tariffs imposed on Canada by U.S. President Donald Trump last month, which impacted $20 billion of Canadian imports.

Prime Minister Carney expressed his government's willingness to negotiate a trade agreement with the United States once Washington is ready, but stressed the necessity of stability and credibility in any such agreement.