MPP Andrew Dowie says he has not seen Ontario's confidential NextStar agreement
Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie says he hasn't seen Ontario's confidential NextStar deal. Ontario paid NextStar about $611 million in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Asked if he'll seek release of its job terms, he gave no yes or no.
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"I do not have access to the confidential agreement and will not speculate about provisions that have not been made public," Dowie wrote to Windsor News on Monday, Oct. 26, in his second reply to questions about job commitments at the NextStar Energy battery plant in Windsor.
The money
Ontario's economic development ministry paid NextStar Energy Inc. $317,464,118 in the 2025-26 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2026, according to the province's Public Accounts. The same ministry paid NextStar $293,968,316 in the 2024-25 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2025. Together that is $611,432,434 over the two fiscal years. Dowie pointed to the 2025-26 figure in a later email on Oct. 26. The Public Accounts list both as transfer payments and do not say which agreement they were paid under. The 2025-26 Public Accounts, published Sept. 24, 2026, are the latest. We have asked Dowie how much Ontario has paid NextStar since then and in total.
What is public
On July 6, 2023, the federal and Ontario governments announced performance incentives of up to $15 billion for the plant, with Ottawa paying two-thirds and Ontario one-third. Their joint statement said the incentives are "contingent on, and proportionate to, the production and sale of batteries" and "subject to conditions and benefits to Canada and Ontario." The terms of Ontario's share have not been published.
Dowie said Ontario's support "is performance-based, not an unconditional payment," with Ontario "responsible for one third of eligible support up to the announced cap."
Asked whether he will ask the minister to release the agreement's job conditions, Dowie sent a link to the 2023 joint statement and wrote: "I support transparency while recognizing that commercial agreements may contain confidential information." He did not say yes or no.
The jobs promise
The 2022 federal capital agreement, worth up to $500 million and released under access to information, says NextStar "will create two thousand five hundred (2,500) FTEs within one year of the Project Completion Date." The 2023 production agreement says the company "intends to use commercially reasonable efforts" to meet that obligation. It is not public what date counts as the Project Completion Date.
NextStar says construction officially ended Sept. 30, 2025. On Oct. 21, 2026, it reported about 1,300 employees and "a long-term target of 2,500 jobs at full capacity." LG Energy Solution announced on Feb. 6, 2026, that it would take full ownership from Stellantis.
In his first reply, Dowie said the 2022 agreement is federal and that questions about its deadline "are most appropriately directed to the federal officials administering it." He said he has "no information indicating that the ownership transition has impacted the company's commitment to employment."
Local hiring
Dowie first said 397 Battery Boost graduates are "reported as hired by NextStar Energy." Asked for his source, he sent a Nov. 13, 2025, Invest WindsorEssex release. It says 397 of 408 graduates were placed "into full-time positions," and does not say how many of them NextStar hired. Dowie then said the figure came from NextStar CEO Danies Lee, who said in November 2025 that the graduates had joined the company. LG Energy Solution reported the same figure on Dec. 15, 2025. Battery Boost is funded through Upskill Canada and the Government of Canada.
That count is from November 2025. We have asked Dowie how many Windsor-Essex residents work at NextStar now. He said he is "not privy to a verified workforce breakdown" and that temporary foreign worker approvals are federal. Statistics Canada puts the Windsor area's unemployment rate at 7.3 per cent in September.
Still unanswered
We asked Dowie for a yes or no on whether he will ask the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade to make the agreement's job and local-hiring conditions public, and whether anyone in the provincial government has briefed him on them. We also asked how much Ontario has paid NextStar since March 31, 2026, whether any Ontario payment depended on jobs or local hiring, and how many Windsor-Essex residents work at NextStar now. We asked for answers by 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 26.
Dowie replied at 11:54 a.m. ET that "your new question about today's specific NextStar employment levels are best directed to NextStar and otherwise my provided answers stand." As of 5:37 p.m. ET on Oct. 26, he had not answered the other questions. Windsor News is asking NextStar for its current employment.
MPPs Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West) and Anthony Leardi (Essex) have not replied to the questions we sent Oct. 22. We also asked Ontario's economic development ministry and the federal industry department. Those deadlines are Thursday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. ET. We will update this story when they reply.
