News reports indicate that the Japanese car manufacturer "Honda" is considering building an electric vehicle factory in Ontario province at a total cost of up to 18.5 billion Canadian dollars. This factory may also produce batteries on its own.

If built, this factory will be one of the largest projects in Honda's history.

The weekly news magazine "Nikkei Asia," published in Japan, was the first to publish this news, before it was republished by the Canadian Press agency and Reuters news agency. Both agencies cited what the Japanese magazine reported.

The news also pointed out that "Honda," which works in partnership with other companies to manufacture batteries used in its electric cars, wants to establish its own battery factory.

Many locations in Canada are being considered to build the factory, but the concentration of similar factories in Ontario makes this province more attractive than others.

Honda, for its part, neither confirmed nor denied the news.

"Honda is considering a number of initiatives as we enter the electrification era," said John Bordignon, spokesperson for Honda Canada, in an email last night.

"To achieve our goal of 100% vehicle electrification by 2040, we are studying different options to increase local production capacity, but we have nothing else to share at this time," Bordignon added.

Meanwhile, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne confirmed today that "the news that Honda is thinking of making a significant investment in Canada reflects the quality of the workforce and the strength of our industry."

Champagne added in an email to Radio Canada that this news is further evidence of "Canada's growing reputation as a supplier of environmentally friendly, quality products and as a global leader (in the electric vehicle sector)."

"We will continue to work tirelessly to position the Canadian automotive sector in the 21st century economy," Champagne affirmed.

Sources familiar with the matter told CBC News (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English-language news service) that a team from Honda will meet with government officials this week.

One of these sources also confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, that executives from Honda Global and Honda Canada met with Minister Champagne and other Canadian officials in mid-December.