Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s office says the minister had no role in negotiations leading to Stellantis’ sale of its Brampton plant to Roshel.
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Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s office is disputing media reports that suggested the federal government played an active role in negotiations that led to automaker Stellantis selling its Brampton, Ont. assembly plant to defence contractor Roshel.
Mathis Denis, a spokesperson for Joly’s office, said Wednesday evening that reporting that Joly “was involved in the deal is false.” Denis said the minister “had no part in negotiating with Stellantis or Roshel on the deal,” adding, “The minister didn’t meet Roshel.”
Denis said Joly’s involvement was limited to a conflict-resolution role between Stellantis and the union, and that she participated in discussions between Stellantis and Unifor, which represents more than 9,000 Canadian workers for the automaker.
He said Stellantis’ decision to move production previously tied to the Brampton plant to the United States—an announcement made in October 2025—was in violation of Stellantis’ commitments to Ottawa under a federal commitment of up to $529 million through the Strategic Response Fund (SRF).
Denis said the office would use “the tools at our disposal” if Stellantis moved forward with a sale or deal that did not honour its SRF commitment and that lacked the union’s approval.
His comments came after Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that selling the Brampton plant “violates the obligations that Stellantis has under several agreements,” calling the move “unacceptable” and “a betrayal of the workers” and of “the obligations to Canada.”
Stellantis announced the sale of the Brampton facility and associated equipment to Roshel for an undisclosed amount late Monday afternoon. The companies said they expect the transaction to close by the end of this year, subject to certain conditions, including government and regulatory requirements.
Roshel CEO Roman Shimonov said his Brampton-based company is willing to hire back some of the 2,000 Stellantis employees laid off when the plant halted operations in 2023.
The facility had been slated for retooling for Jeep production, a process that began early in 2024, before Stellantis paused the plan in early 2025. Stellantis later said it was moving production of the Jeep Compass to Illinois, leaving the Brampton plant idled indefinitely.
Joly is set to convene a meeting Thursday in Toronto with Stellantis and Unifor leadership, along with Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli. Denis said, “This is not the outcome we wanted and we have no choice but to find Stellantis in default of their obligation.”
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