Overview
- Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and South Korea’s Trade Minister Jung-Kwan Kim signed the agreement in Ottawa earlier this week, creating a Canada–Korea Industrial Cooperation Committee.
- The framework outlines cooperation to build a Korean automotive footprint in Canada, pursue EV manufacturing, expand battery production and supply chains, and develop hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles.
- Ottawa emphasized investment across battery materials and critical minerals, noting Korean firms have already committed billions to Canada’s emerging battery ecosystem.
- The accord follows Canada’s request that submarine bidders facilitate concrete auto-sector commitments, with South Korea’s Hanwha and a German–Norwegian team led by TKMS still in contention.
- The MOU carries no binding factory pledge from Hyundai, and any submarine deal would be a government-to-government contract valued in the tens of billions over a multi-decade partnership.