Oshawa, Ontario — June 10, 2016 — General Motors was joined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne at GM’s Oshawa Tech Center to announce a major expansion of its engineering and software work in Canada. The focus of the expansion is on supporting the development of innovative new automotive systems and technologies for the future.
“The investments announced today will create good paying jobs, grow Canada’s middle class, and ensure a brighter future for all Canadians,” Prime Minister Trudeau said during the event announcing the expansion. “Meeting with CEO Mary Barra at the World Economic Forum, I made the case for investing in Canada. I applaud GM for choosing Canada to be the home base for its global centre for advanced vehicle software development.”
GM will expand its Canadian engineering base to reach a total of approximately 1,000 positions over the next few years. The new GM Canada work will be focused in the areas of autonomous vehicle software and controls development, active safety and vehicle dynamics technology, infotainment and connected vehicle technology.
This expansion will bring the Oshawa Tech Centre beyond its maximum capacity. As a result, GM will also soon open a new Automotive Software Development Centre in Markham, Ontario. Hiring for the new positions has already commenced.
Additionally, GM will invest $10 million in its Kapuskasing Cold Weather testing facility.
Mark Reuss is GM’s Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. During the announcement, Reuss pointed to Canada’s ability to innovate as one of the reasons GM chose to make this investment in Canada.
“We selected Canada for this expansion because of its clear capacity for innovation, proven talent and strong ecosystem of great universities, startups and innovative suppliers,” said Reuss. “With this expansion, GM Canada will play an important role in our evolution toward vehicles that are connected, autonomous, shared and electric.”
Earlier this year, GM Canada opened its 2908 Communitech Innovation Lab in Waterloo, Ontario with focus on incubating urban mobility and connected vehicle innovations. In April, the company also announced its purchase of property in south eastern Toronto as the base for a new Urban Mobility Campus to be comprised of office space, research and development facilities, vehicle sales and services including sales of electric vehicles.
