Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing

Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing Helping to advance Ontario's manufacturing ecosystem using data-driven research. Funded by Ontario MEDJCT.

03/04/2026

Canada’s automotive industry—and economy in general—is facing disruption related to geopolitical shifts (to put it mildly). But a historian will tell you that disruption, no matter how painful, can bring opportunities. The last time the industry was this disrupted, we got the transformative Auto Pact.

Perspective can be so insightful. That’s why we invited Dimitry Anastakis, an expert on the history of Canada’s automotive industry, on a recent episode of Making it in Ontario to talk about what the car companies of Canada’s past can teach us about the future.

If you’re in need of a dose of optimism, it’s worth a listen: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0ad0c5d0-b501-4542-b292-31230e41c84e/

02/26/2026

Is a nuclear-powered car on the horizon?

The Trillium Network isn’t suggesting that Canada should build one (though we’re not NOT saying that 🤔), but we do think Canadian nuclear companies should be part of the conversation about building a Canadian car company.

Hear more of our ideas about who should be involved in a Canadian car company in this recent episode of Making it in Ontario:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/d90f6506-7d49-4596-a359-51f0390a981b/

The road behind is not the road ahead for the automotive industry in Canada.We’re entering the second half of a decade t...
02/02/2026

The road behind is not the road ahead for the automotive industry in Canada.

We’re entering the second half of a decade that has reshaped the automotive industry in a quiet but profound way.

The Trillium Network’s latest data bulletin looks at 10 years of Canadian passenger vehicle and light-duty truck production, assembly plant employment, and labour productivity.

Some of you are well aware just how much has changed. For others, it’s time to let go of long-held assumptions about the automotive industry in Canada.

The bulletin shows that:

➡️ Japan-based automakers Honda and Toyota assemble more than three-quarters of the vehicles made in Canada;
➡️ Union density fell to levels not seen in the industry since the 1920s; and,
➡️ Assembly plants that sit idle or operate below capacity are a major drag on productivity.

We welcome the much-anticipated federal automotive strategy. As our bulletin notes, we hope that the strategy incorporates the following three concepts:

📌 📌 Leverage Canada’s large market for vehicles (1.9 million in 2025, the 8th largest in the world) as a means to support automotive manufacturing;
Incentivize and reward those companies that have chosen to invest in and grow their manufacturing footprint in Canada (looking at you Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., Honda Canada ...); and,
📌 Invest in Canadian talent and production technology relentlessly and persistently as a means to maintain and develop competitive advantages.

Read the full data bulletin here: https://trilliummfg.ca/data-bulletin/the-road-behind-is-not-the-road-ahead/

St Thomas Proud York Link - York Region Economic Development London Economic Development Corporation County of Simcoe

01/29/2026

If we’re operating on the assumption that making a car in Canada is doable, then what should that car look like? If a Canadian car company is feasible, then what kind of car would be most feasible?

It’s a question we asked Dimitry Anastakis, an automotive historian and author of Dream Car, a new book about the history of the New Brunswick-built Bricklin SV1. To find out his answer, you’ll have to listen to this episode of Making it in Ontario, but here’s a teaser…

Dimitry thinks it should be the ‘Canada Goose of vehicles’ 🍁🪿

Check it out: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0ad0c5d0-b501-4542-b292-31230e41c84e/

01/08/2026

Our latest report, Shifting Gears: The Potential for a Canadian Car Company, is getting a lot of buzz! If you’ve been too busy to read the report, here’s your chance to hear about it.

In the latest episode of Making it in Ontario, the report’s authors, Brendan Sweeney and Greg Keenan, unpack the findings and explain why we included a link for the Homer Simpson car in the show notes. 🤔

Have a listen to the full episode on our website, or wherever you get your favourite podcasts: https://trilliummfg.ca/podcast/

09/16/2025

When it comes to investment attraction, economic developers and the communities they represent work hard to build trust with potential investors. In some cases, the investors work equally hard to build trust with communities. When both sides come to the table eager to collaborate, that’s where magic can happen.

You’ve probably heard about PowerCo's $7 billion investment in St. Thomas. In a previous episode of Making it in Ontario, we heard the St Thomas Proud St. Thomas Economic Development side of the investment story from CEO Sean D**e. Now you can hear PowerCo Canada’s perspective from CHRO Norman Wickboldt, along with a deep dive into the company’s major recruitment campaign for its EV battery gigafactory in the coming years.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ea99fc37-01e3-4c9f-ab4a-55d79a596109/

09/12/2025

Canola has been a hot topic recently. Typically, we, the Trillium Network for *Advanced Manufacturing*, wouldn’t be weighing in on agriculture, but then claims were made that canola contributes more to Canada’s economy than automotive, steel, and aluminum combined. Come again??

We crunched the numbers and got vastly different results for the canola industry. Then we updated our figures for the automotive industry. How did they stack up?

Hear the apples-to-apples comparison and how we think the flawed canola numbers were produced in the latest episode of Making it in Ontario:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a325bed2-1bdf-4928-a875-81a12a78f2cb/

09/11/2025

Industry and academic partnerships are important, but they can be challenging to get off the ground because each has different wants and needs. So how do we bring them together?

The Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR) Hub is all about fostering collaboration, so its executive director, Phil Arthurs, has some expertise on this matter. Take a listen to the clip and tune into his full episode of Making it in Ontario to learn why physical spaces for collaboration are key:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/97c55f8f-24d9-4033-aa13-8becfec743e0/

Centennial College Toronto Metropolitan University

09/10/2025

Todd Lewin is the President of Muskoka Brewery, one of the largest craft breweries in Ontario, and helped it grow into its 40,000-square-foot space with 100 employees, despite a constant barrage of curveballs.

We asked him about his approach to leadership—check out the clip to hear what he had to say.

For more on those curve balls and how Muskoka Brewery has kept evolving to keep serving thirsty consumers, take a listen to Todd’s episode of Making it in Ontario:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/82b3ca9d-30f0-4bb7-bd0e-518db8539fac/

09/09/2025

Looking for work? PowerCo, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group is looking for talented Canadians to join the team at its EV battery gigafactory in St. Thomas.

So what kinds of skills are they looking for? Check out this clip, then tune into the full episode of Making it in Ontario featuring PowerCo Canada CHRO Norman Wickboldt to learn more about the technical skillsets they need, the differences between working in an EV battery plant versus a traditional vehicle assembly plant, and the workplace culture PowerCo Canada hopes to create here in Ontario:

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ea99fc37-01e3-4c9f-ab4a-55d79a596109/

St Thomas Proud

08/29/2025

Canada’s aerospace and defence industry punches above its weight, and the Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR) Hub is working to keep it that way.

We recently sat down with Phil Arthurs, DAIR’s executive director, to chat about Ontario’s aerospace industry, its importance to Ontario’s economy, and how DAIR is catalyzing innovation in the industry through collaboration.

Be a fly on the wall in the latest episode of Making it in Ontario: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/97c55f8f-24d9-4033-aa13-8becfec743e0/

Centennial College Toronto Metropolitan University

Address

1151 RICHMOND Street
London, ON
N6A5C2

Telephone

+15196613351

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing:

Shortcuts

Share

Category