President Barack Obama speaks to workers and guests at the Linamar Corporation plant in Arden, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, as he travels after delivering his State of the Union address Tuesday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
February 13, 2013 - 1:45 PM
OTTAWA - Barack Obama's envoy to Ottawa says his president's push to make the United States "a magnet" for manufacturing jobs won't lead to a bleed of jobs from Canada.
U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson insists the initiative, announced by Obama in his State of the Union address, will prove to be a net gain for Canada's battered manufacturing sector.
Jacobson notes that Obama visited a Canadian-owned North Carolina auto parts maker on Wednesday to kickstart his manufacturing push.
Guelph-based Linamar took over the Asheville, N.C., plant when Volvo shut down operations in 2010, putting about 200 people out of work.
Linamar president Jim Jarrell says the Canadian company has now hired back 168 people and expects to expand to 200 jobs by year end.
Jarrell says he's impressed by Obama's commitment to revitalizing manufacturing, and told the U.S. president so personally while they were touring the plant.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013