Canada threatened Thursday to sue automaker Stellantis and claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies after the company shifted planned vehicle production to the United States and agreed to sell its idled Brampton, Ontario assembly plant. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed Ottawa served Stellantis a formal notice alleging breaches of its funding agreement. The automaker now has 30 days to address the violations or face court action.
According to the Associated Press and CTV News, Joly met in Toronto on Thursday with Stellantis executives, the Unifor union, and Ontario provincial officials. Afterward, she told reporters Stellantis breached its contract by abandoning plans to build the Jeep Compass in Brampton without securing a replacement vehicle. Stellantis previously moved that production line to Illinois amid tariff pressure from US President Donald Trump, leaving more than 2,000 Canadian workers without jobs. Joly delivered a blunt ultimatum: "We sent a notice of default and, basically, they have 30 days or else. Of course, we'll sue them." She added that Stellantis remains on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars, while Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the world's fourth-largest automaker of betraying Canadian workers.
In 2022, Canada committed up to 529 million Canadian dollars ($380 million) to help Stellantis retool its Brampton and Windsor plants for electric vehicle manufacturing. On Monday, Stellantis announced an agreement to sell the Brampton facility to Canadian armored vehicle maker Roshel. While Stellantis offered to repay government funds tied to Brampton, the company declined to disclose the exact figure. Following Thursday's four-way meeting, Unifor President Lana Payne told CP24 and BNN Bloomberg that discussions ended without a breakthrough. She noted that the window to block the Roshel transaction had already closed, making any reversal doubly difficult for workers and officials.
