The Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs toured the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan today to get a glimpse of the facility that was gifted $83.5 million over three years in the recent federal budget.

Melanie Joly says the funding was allocated because the government believes the researchers working at the CLS will play a large role in the electric vehicle battery supply chain that is being created across the country.

“We believe that the facility here and the people working here, the great scientific minds working in Saskatoon, are really part of this EV battery supply chain we’re creating across the country.”

Several research projects regarding EV batteries have been conducted at the CLS, which have been used to capture their aging processes and improve their sustainability.

“This is the only Canadian synchrotron, and more than ever, as we’re investing in electric vehicles across the country and creating the supply chain, we want to make sure Saskatchewan gets a piece of it, and thus our investments here.”

She says the usage of electric vehicles is inevitable in Canada’s future, and the federal investment aims to ensure that Saskatchewan gets to play a role in the country’s journey to reach net zero carbon emissions.

“The question about whether there will be electric vehicles in our world or not is not a question. The question is ‘where will we build them?’ and ‘how can we position Saskatchewan and Canada as the place where we can build them?'”