PowerCo Canada selects EllisDon as general contractor for St. Thomas gigafactory
On 24 September 2026 PowerCo Canada selected EllisDon as general contractor for its St. Thomas, Ontario gigafactory; about 60 EllisDon workers are on site, rising to roughly 1,300 at peak. No contract value was disclosed.
Event / data period: 2026-09-24
Published: · Updated:
On 24 September 2026 PowerCo Canada announced that it had selected EllisDon Corporation as general contractor for its gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ontario, calling the appointment a key milestone as the project moves into its next phase of construction. Work on site has continued since groundbreaking in 2025 and is moving into core infrastructure and structural phases.
Initial works focus on the first phase of development: core building structures and site-wide infrastructure. The scope includes the production-building shell, mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations, energy and utility systems and supporting site services. About 60 EllisDon workers were on site at the time of the announcement, and the workforce is expected to ramp up to roughly 1,300 at peak.
PowerCo said it is aligning the project timeline and product strategy with market demand and the Volkswagen Group’s long-term strategy, and that St. Thomas is now expected to begin operations in 2029 to accommodate next-generation battery technology. The release describes the facility as an investment of up to C$7 billion; it did not disclose the value of the EllisDon contract.
Data
Investment and workforce figures
Investment, current workforce and expected peak workforce stated in PowerCo Canada’s release of 24 September 2026.
- Investment in the St. Thomas gigafactory (up to)
- ≤7 billion CAD
- 2026-09-24 · Target
- EllisDon workers on site at the announcement
- ≈60 people
- 2026-09-24 · Observed
- EllisDon workers expected on site at peak
- ≈1,300 people
- 2026-09-24 · Target
Methodology
The C$7 billion is described in the release as an investment of up to that amount in the St. Thomas gigafactory; it is a project investment figure, not the value of the EllisDon contract, which was not disclosed. The release writes it with a dollar sign and no currency code; it is recorded as Canadian dollars because the release presents the project as a Canadian investment in Ontario. The 60 and 1,300 are EllisDon’s approximate on-site workers at the date of the release and its expected peak, not permanent jobs, and exclude the additional personnel supporting parallel project activities.
Updated:
Subjects and places
Subject proposals
- Infrastructure projectsSuggested
- Preserved editorial category/topic; broad candidate onlypowerco.de ↗
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- Canada · Place role: Coverage · Place type: Country or area · Location precision: RegionalEvidence
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