In a call with reporters during his trade mission in Germany and Belgium, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he has been reassuring companies that Canada will honour its fall economic statement promises to keep Canada competitive in the wake of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. (The Logic)

Talking point: Champagne said the ability to compete with the IRA, which offers incentives for U.S.-based clean-technology projects like wind turbines, solar panels and North American-made electric vehicles, is “the first thing that people talk to me about.” The comments come after Champagne met with EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who has warned the EU it can’t afford a subsidy war with the U.S. After pitching Mercedes on Canadian-made steel and aluminum on the trip, Champagne  plans to meet with BMW. He said there is “significant interest for both Ontario and Quebec” in Volkswagen’s battery-plant site search. Meanwhile, General Motors announced DHL will be the first Canadian buyer of its Ontario-made electric BrightDrop vans. At the announcement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Europe’s push against the IRA is something he is “watching closely.”