UPDATE 1-Canada to offer C$1 bln in aid over 10 years to auto sector: PM

(Releads with PM pledging aid to auto sector if re-elected)
TORONTO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Canada's Conservative Prime
Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday promised C$1 billion ($763
million) in assistance over 10 years for the automotive industry
if he retains power in an Oct. 19 election.
He made the pledge a day after agreeing to a new Pacific
trade pact that critics say will hurt the Canadian auto
industry. Polls show Harper may well lose his majority in the
House of Commons and could even be turned out of office.
Harper vowed to extend the life of an existing C$100 million
a year automotive innovation fund by 10 years once it expired in
March 2018. The program is designed to help research projects
become commercially viable by supporting product development.
The Conservatives, he added, would expand the fund to
support the construction costs of assembly plants, and would
offer non-repayable grants for new plants and investments in
existing facilities.
"If automakers are prepared to make firm commitments to new
and modernized plants in Canada for the long-term, our
Government is prepared to partner with them," he said.
Harper was speaking in Whitby, Ontario. The province is the
heartland of Canada's auto industry and also accounts for 36
percent of the seats in the House of Commons.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership deal agreed on Monday would
give Japan's automakers a freer hand to buy parts from Asia for
vehicles sold in the United States. The Unifor union, which
represents auto workers in Canada, has said the change will put
jobs at risk. ID:nL3N1252R6
Auto firms currently building vehicles in Canada include
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co F.N , General Motors (NYSE:GM) C GM.N , Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU)
Automobiles NV FCHA.MI , Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T and Honda
Motor Co Ltd 7267.T .
($1 = 1.31 Canadian dollars)