Project Arrow: Canada’s Automotive Moonshot and a Test of True Grit

By Leni Spooner, creator of Between the Lines.

A Tale of Two Arrows

For generations, Canada’s auto sector has been a vital engine of economic life—but often seen as a “branch plant” of a larger, usually American, machine. Essential, yes—but rarely sovereign.

What if Canada could build a car of its own, from the ground up? A vehicle not just made in Canada, but made for Canada—engineered for its winter roads, long distances, and industrial independence.

That idea is no longer hypothetical.

Project Arrow is Canada’s bold leap into the future of electric vehicles—a story of innovation, collaboration, and a quiet echo from the past.

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A Name with History, A Vision with Teeth

Named after the legendary Avro Arrow—Canada’s most ambitious aerospace project of the 1950s—Project Arrow isn’t just a sleek electric SUV. It’s a national statement.

As Prime Minister Trudeau put it, the project serves as a “lighthouse for Canada’s shift into zero-emission vehicle development.” At its core, it’s about proving what’s possible when Canadian engineers, suppliers, and students unite around a shared mission.

That mission? To design and build an advanced EV using entirely Canadian parts, systems, and talent.

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The Build: From Vision to Vehicle

The idea took off in 2020, when the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) issued a challenge: design a “2025 Canadian electric vehicle.”

A student team from Carleton University answered with a concept grounded in national identity. That prototype sparked the APMA’s members—and a movement.

With support from nearly 60 domestic suppliers, Ontario Tech University’s engineering hub became the forge where Canada’s EV would take shape. Over two years, they delivered what many assumed couldn’t be done.

And yes—the name “Arrow” is deliberate. This time, the Arrow wouldn’t be cancelled.

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What Makes It Canadian?

It’s not just the maple hardwood floor with a red stripe (a nod to James Naismith’s basketball court design), or the fact that 97% of the parts are Canadian-made. It’s the whole package.

Project Arrow is built for Canada:

• Lidar sensors from Quebec
  
• Batteries from Ontario
  
• Cold-weather durability
  
• Biometric sensors, advanced cybersecurity, and lightweight hemp panels
  
• Level 3 autonomous driving
  

All designed to showcase—not mass-produce—what Canadian tech can do.

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Mission Accomplished (and Then Some)

The first prototype was built on time and under budget—a rare feat for any large project, public or private. The total cost came in around $20 million, bolstered by $8.2 million in government funding and substantial in-kind contributions.

The goal wasn’t to launch a new car brand. It was to show that Canada can build its own advanced vehicle, from idea to road.

APMA President Flavio Volpe put it simply:

“We have all the components here. Project Arrow shows it to you—no theoretical BS.”

And it worked. Collectively, the suppliers involved have since landed over $500 million in new contracts.

A remarkable return on a single $8 million investment.

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Forged in the North: Canada’s Ultimate Test Track

What makes Project Arrow truly Canadian isn’t just where it was built. It’s what it was built to face.

Canada’s geography and climate present one of the toughest proving grounds on Earth—from whiteout blizzards to prairie dust storms, alpine curves to rural backroads. Designing a car that performs here is like building for Formula One conditions—only the track is frozen half the year.

That challenge is what gives Project Arrow its edge.

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Winter-Ready by Design

EV batteries don’t love the cold. In sub-zero conditions, they lose range, charge more slowly, and suffer long-term wear. For many Canadians, this isn’t a mild inconvenience—it’s the reason they’ve held off buying electric.

Project Arrow was engineered to change that.

Its proprietary cold-weather systems include an advanced thermal management circuit that actively monitors and regulates battery temperature. The cooling architecture ensures consistent performance and prevents deep-winter degradation—even when the mercury hits –40°C.

And this isn’t just theory. Every Arrow system is tested at Ontario Tech’s ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel, a world-class lab that can simulate anything from sleet to Sahara heat. If the Arrow can survive that, it can handle a northern January.

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Built to Withstand, Not Just Impress

Winter’s just one part of the Canadian equation. The country’s vast terrain also demands strength, not just smarts.

That’s why the Arrow’s body integrates a world-first 3D-printed carbon chassis, reinforced with lightweight magnesium pillars and carbon fibre panels. The materials are modern. The goal is timeless: make it light, tough, and road-tested.

This isn’t a showroom darling—it’s a workhorse in concept form.

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Cold as a Catalyst

Where others see climate as a barrier, Project Arrow flips the script.

Canada’s extreme environment becomes a strategic advantage: if we can build electric vehicles to thrive here, we can build for anywhere. And that expertise—winterized systems, advanced materials, cold-ready components—has global value.

What started as a moonshot now offers a real shot at leadership in a market that’s just waking up to the importance of resilience.

Project Arrow 2.0: From Prototype to Fleet—and a National Movement

Following the success of its concept vehicle, Project Arrow is now entering a bold new phase.

Arrow 2.0 will build as many as a dozen road-ready demonstrator vehicles—each a real-world testbed for new technologies. With $11 million in new federal and provincial funding, this next chapter confirms sustained public support.

The silhouette will remain the same, but each new Arrow will be a unique platform. As APMA President Flavio Volpe puts it:

“You’re going to see major technology updates for every new Arrow we build.”

Arrow 2.0 isn’t just a vehicle expansion—it’s an ecosystem accelerator. Regional tech clusters across Canada will integrate their capabilities into different vehicles. Municipalities, academic institutions, and suppliers will collaborate in real-world testing environments.

Final assembly will again take place at Ontario Tech University, supported by its faculty and students. The goal? A fully domestic pipeline for EV innovation—from battery supply to sub-assembly techniques, and from software testing to workforce training.

This is less about production and more about readiness. It’s an open-source infrastructure model for a country that’s ready to lead.

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Building Resilience: A Sovereign Supply Chain

Project Arrow also serves as a strategic counterweight to Canada’s long and often uneasy reliance on the U.S. auto industry.

Since the 1965 Auto Pact, Canadian auto manufacturing has been deeply integrated with American supply chains—and exposed to American trade policy. From Reagan’s “Buy American” rhetoric to modern tariff threats, that dependence has often come at a cost.

Even labour has diverged. In 1984, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) split from the United Auto Workers (UAW) over fears that the American union was compromising Canadian jobs. That fracture, like Project Arrow, marked a desire to chart our own course.

Arrow’s 97% Canadian content isn’t just about pride—it’s a deliberate act of industrial sovereignty. It shortens supply chains, reduces risk, and builds resilience. The $500 million in contracts already awarded to Canadian firms proves that this is more than a symbolic gesture—it’s working.

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The Avro Arrow Echo: A Chance to Get It Right

No story about Project Arrow is complete without acknowledging the ghost in the hangar: the Avro CF-105 Arrow.

The original Arrow was a groundbreaking Canadian interceptor jet, scrapped in 1959 before it could enter full production. The cancellation—often called “Black Friday”—led to tens of thousands of job losses and remains one of the country’s great “what-ifs.”

Project Arrow reclaims that story. But this time, the prototype isn’t being dismantled—it’s being multiplied. And the benefits are being shared across 60+ companies in multiple provinces.

Unlike the original, this Arrow isn’t centralized, militarized, or fragile. Innovation is distributed. Its model is collaborative. Its potential is civilian, commercial, and exportable.

Even its testing is future-forward: using “digital twin” simulations instead of costly physical trials. The very structure of Arrow 2.0 makes it harder to kill and easier to scale.

We’re not just revisiting a dream—we’re safeguarding it.

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Closing the Loop: This Time, Let It Fly

Flavio Volpe says:

“Canada has the power to change the automotive world.”

That may sound bold—but with Project Arrow, we’re proving it piece by piece.

This isn’t just about a car. It’s about refusing to play small. It’s about sovereignty, resilience, and building with purpose in a world that often undervalues Canadian ambition.

Last time, we grounded the Arrow.

This time, it’s already in motion.

Conclusion: Steering Toward a Canadian Future

Project Arrow has already done something vital: it reminded us that Canada still has the capacity to dream big—and build even bigger.

Its red-and-white prototype turned heads around the world, proving that Canadian suppliers, engineers, and students could collaborate to create a state-of-the-art electric vehicle. No need to ask if it’s possible anymore. We’ve already done it.

The next challenge is scaling that success—not just preserving the moment, but extending it. That will take vision, investment, and a willingness to think beyond what’s been done before.

But if there was ever a time to try, it’s now. The global auto industry is in flux. Countries are reshaping supply chains. Voters are looking for bold ideas that deliver real value at home. The conditions are right—maybe more than they’ve been in decades.

Flavio Volpe often reminds us that Project Arrow was inspired by the Avro Arrow—another great Canadian innovation story, cut short too soon. This time, we have a chance to write a better ending.

Imagine a future where electric vehicles designed for Canadian roads, in Canadian winters, with Canadian parts, are not just one-offs—but a presence on highways coast to coast.

It won’t happen overnight. But we’ve already proven we have the people. We have the ideas. We even have the blueprint.

Now, we just have to stay the course—and build it.

About the Author

Leni Spooner is a Canadian writer, researcher, and civic storyteller. She is the founder of Between the Lines, a publication focused on the quiet forces shaping politics, infrastructure, and public life. Her work blends historical context with present-day analysis, helping readers see the deeper patterns that shape national decisions.

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