The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that federal officials are planning to meet this week with Honda representatives about the possibility of the Japanese carmaker building an electric-vehicle factory in Canada, adding another name to the list of manufacturers Ottawa is courting as part of a multibillion-dollar effort to transform the domestic auto industry ahead of a shift away from fossil fuels. The Globe's Bill Curry and Adam Radwanski write that it will take place this week, and that several federal departments will participate. Japanese news group Nikkei reported on Sunday that spending on the potential electric-vehicle plant could reach $18.5-billion, and that the facility could also produce vehicle batteries. If Honda's investment is near that reported figure, it would be by far the biggest by an automaker in Canadian EV production to date, dwarfing the roughly $7-billion Volkswagen Group battery factory coming to St. Thomas, Ont., and the roughly $5-billion battery plant being built by Stellantis NV and LG Energy Solution in Windsor, Ont. The Honda facility would be a cornerstone of the company's effort to play catch-up in the race to serve the growing market for fully electric vehicles.