Here’s why South Africa’s EV environment should wake up Ottawa

Chery’s takeover of Nissan’s South African plant demonstrates that where others retreat, China fills the vacuum. Canada should be taking notes.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly recently met four Chinese electric vehicle makers and laid out Ottawa’s terms. Rather than watching Canadian jobs vanish, we should invite Chinese firms to fill the gaps under Joly’s ‘make where you sell’ terms, writes Wenran Jiang.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY WENRAN JIANG

July 16, 2026

The handover in Rosslyn, South Africa, should ring alarm bells in Ottawa and Queen’s Park.

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