Joly meets Stellantis and Unifor after default notice over Brampton plant deal with Roshel

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Ottawa served Stellantis with a notice of default on a federal funding agreement tied to the retooling of its Brampton, Ont., assembly plant, and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly met with Stellantis executives and representatives from Unifor following the move.

In a letter to Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley, Joly said the company breached conditions of the 2022 commitment by halting Jeep Compass production at the plant, failing or refusing to identify a replacement vehicle, not maintaining production at the facility, and closing the plant. The notice gave Stellantis 30 days to demonstrate it will “correct these conditions,” or Joly said she will declare the company in default.

Stellantis said it will “voluntarily return” $24 million in federal government support it received for the Brampton assembly plant’s original retooling plan, a figure Joly said is far below what the government is seeking.

Longley said the company’s decision to sell the plant is meant to allow it to focus on sustaining Canadian manufacturing operations amid “challenging market realities,” and he said the agreement with a Canadian manufacturer provides a path to return the facility to productive industrial use and create new jobs with priority hiring consideration for Brampton workers.

Joly told reporters in Toronto that “Basically they have 30 days or else, of course, we’ll sue them,” adding the government tried to find a solution for a year but was not able to stop Stellantis from proceeding with its plan to sell the Brampton site.

Federal officials said Joly’s office also raised concerns that the Stellantis-Roshel transaction shows the company is “no longer diligently working in good faith” to address Ottawa’s concerns since Stellantis revealed a year earlier it would not manufacture its Jeep Compass electric vehicle at the Brampton plant. The letter indicated Joly may supplement the notice of default with further breaches tied to the sale announced earlier this week, which is expected to close by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, responding to media questions about the federal government’s involvement in discussions between Stellantis and Roshel, said a deal with Roshel is a “partial solution.” He said he was distinguishing between being informed and Stellantis providing a global solution for workers, and said the company has obligations that were not fully met. Carney said the government intends to pursue the matter.

Longley’s letter also reflected the company’s stance on future steps, saying Stellantis’ priority is to work “constructively with Unifor toward a fair, negotiated resolution” for affected employees.

Joly’s meeting involved the union representing Stellantis’ more than 9,000 workers across Canada. Unifor national president Lana Payne said later Thursday evening that a potential strike remains the union’s last resort. She said the union is not yet in a legal strike position that would require it to request a “no board” report, adding: “The strike will come if we need to do it. But the reality is we've got a lot of work to do before we'd be in that place.”

Unifor said the plant is sold, but Payne said she and other stakeholders did not hear in the meeting that a path existed for governments to reverse the sale. Brampton local president Vito Beato said members feel “distressed,” adding, “Of course I'm angry… we feel betrayed by everyone involved here.”

The dispute follows a 2022 federal funding commitment of up to $529 million to help Stellantis retool Brampton and Windsor facilities, alongside $513 million in provincial support. Retooling began at Brampton in early 2024, but Stellantis paused its plan to produce the Jeep Compass there in February 2025, later moving production to Illinois and leaving more than 2,000 workers laid off while the Brampton plant was idled indefinitely.

The company’s plan to sell the facility to Roshel followed collective bargaining breakdown between Stellantis and Unifor in September, after Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel aimed at a sale. Workers later voted to authorize a potential labour action, with 97.3 per cent of members who took part voting in favour of a strike mandate.

Roshel CEO Roman Shimonov said his company is willing to hire back some Stellantis employees laid off when operations halted in 2023, and Roshel also plans to lease about one-quarter of the site back to Stellantis for automotive work. While Stellantis said it is pursuing a negotiated resolution, the notice of default and the 30-day window for Stellantis to correct conditions keep the funding dispute active.