The federal government is investing in an engineering program at Nemak in west Windsor.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains told Nemak executives and staff that Ottawa is putting $3-million into a $9-million program.
The goal is to develop a fully automated casting process for aluminium engine blocks that will be lighter and stronger than what's being made now.
Bains says that is the future of the industry: "they want lighter materials without sacrificing the integrity of the engine block, that's precisely what Nemak intends to do. The company plans unique improvements to its casting process to increase the strength of the engine block and that's where the value-add comes in for the consumer and the automaker"
Bains says this program will secure the future of the plant as well as helping on the environmental side because lighter engine blocks mean better fuel efficiency for vehicles.
Bains says a key to the investment is creating employment with well-paying positions.
He says this project is expected to create 70 new jobs over the next 5 years.
Nemak officials were guarded about what the specific engine would be, but indicated it would go into production in 2019 or 2020.
The 70 positions will all be non-union, engineering jobs.