Doug Ford's hopes for Ontario's electric vehicle industry hinge on mining its Ring of Fire

Premier Doug Ford's government is touting Ontario as a future electric vehicle manufacturing hub, and linking that to a fresh push for a huge mining development in the northern part of the province. 

Ford's Progressive Conservatives want to lure the big automakers to produce electric vehicles in southern Ontario. A key part of that strategy involves opening up the so-called Ring of Fire mineral deposit, located more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay in an area home to Indigenous people.

The Ring of Fire was originally promoted as a source of chromite, an important component in steel. Now the hype centres on its supply of minerals used in EV batteries and energy storage systems, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, graphite and copper.

Ontario's mini-budget — known as the fall economic statement — featured the Ring of Fire prominently when it was presented last week, and explicitly linked the mining project to EV battery production. 

Ford spoke enthusiastically about both electric vehicles and the Ring of Fire on Monday. 

"We're doing it," Ford said, when CBC News asked about the government's plans for the mining project, during an unrelated news conference in Bradford, Ont., just north of Toronto.

"We're going to be the number one manufacturer of electric battery operated cars in North America," Ford said. "We're not only going to manufacture the batteries here, but also manufacture the cars." 

Ford said First Nations are being consulted about the Ring of Fire. 

"We do nothing up there without making sure there's a buy-in from the vast majority of the communities," Ford said. 

"This is going to benefit so many people from First Nations communities up there. They're going to have good-paying jobs. They're going to be part of the investments. They're going to be able to build roads, not not just to get up to the mines, but also be to get goods up there a lot quicker as well. This is just a massive win for the First Nations community."

However, Ford's enthusiasm is not universally matched among Indigenous leaders in northern Ontario. 

"There is going to be opposition, if this continues the way it is and the Ford government or any future government doesn't recognize the rights of our people, it's going to be a strong stance," said Chief Wayne Moonias of the Neskantaga First Nation in an interview Monday.  

Neskantaga is one of three First Nations — along with Attawapiskat and Fort Albany — that declared a moratorium on Ring of Fire development earlier this year.  

"People are making money, a lot of money, off of our land and there is no consent that has been given by our people, our First Nation," said Moonias. "Rightfully the First Nations people of Neskantaga should be the ones to determine how those things are going to be carried out, if in fact they're going to be carried out."