Urgent Toronto meeting on Brampton Stellantis plant, where more than 2,000 jobs are at stake

TORONTO — Toronto is hosting a four-party meeting on Thursday to discuss the future of Stellantis's auto assembly plant in Brampton, after the company announced its sale to a Canadian maker of armoured vehicles, amid concern about the fate of more than 2,000 workers.

Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is scheduled to take part, along with representatives of Stellantis, the union Unifor and the Ontario government.

The meeting follows mounting criticism of the company, which is accused of backing away from earlier commitments to maintain jobs and production in Canada.

Four-party meeting on the Brampton plant crisis

The meeting brings together representatives of the federal government, the Ontario government, Stellantis and Unifor, which represents more than 9,000 of the company's workers across Canada.

Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli, is expected to take part in the talks aimed at resolving the crisis.

Unifor president Lana Payne had called for an urgent meeting of all parties after earlier bilateral talks failed to produce an agreement securing the plant's future.

The union is seeking to protect jobs and preserve Canada's ability to manufacture vehicles, rather than see the facility simply reused for a different industrial purpose.

Sale to Roshel angers workers

On Monday, Nov. 9, Stellantis announced an agreement to sell the Brampton plant and its equipment to Canadian company Roshel, which specializes in producing armoured vehicles, for an undisclosed amount.

The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, once the required regulatory and government conditions are met.

The plant stopped operating in 2023 for retooling, and plans to restart it were put on hold in 2025.

Stellantis later decided to move production of the Jeep Compass to Illinois, leaving more than 2,000 workers at the plant without their jobs.

The union president described the sale of the facility as the worst-case scenario and accused the company of abandoning its obligations to its workers.

Carney threatens to hold Stellantis to account

Prime Minister Mark Carney criticized the decision to sell, saying it goes against commitments Stellantis made under earlier agreements with the Canadian government.

He said Ottawa will use its legal rights to protect workers and hold the company to account if it is found to have breached its commitments.

The statements come after the federal government made a funding commitment of up to $529 million to support the modernization of Stellantis facilities in Brampton and Windsor.

Authorities consider that moving production to the United States and selling the plant raise serious questions about compliance with the terms of the government support.

However, the final details of any legal action or demands for repayment have not yet been settled.

Joly denies involvement in sale negotiations

The issue entered a new phase after the office of Industry Minister Mélanie Joly denied media reports that the federal government took part in the negotiations that led to the sale of the plant.

The minister's spokesperson, Mathis Denis, said Joly did not take part in negotiating the deal and did not meet with Roshel.

He explained that her role was limited to trying to settle the dispute between Stellantis and Unifor after the company decided to move production intended for Brampton to the United States.

The denial responded to reports suggesting that officials in Ottawa knew of the negotiations over the plant's sale before it was officially announced.

Will jobs return to the Brampton plant?

Roshel has said it is willing to give some laid-off workers priority in future hiring, but it has not committed to rehiring all former employees.

The company also disclosed that it is in talks with automakers about the possibility of producing civilian vehicles at the site, in addition to its work in defence vehicles.

However, these plans do not guarantee the return of the former manufacturing jobs or a restart of the plant at the same level.

Unifor is demanding clear commitments that protect workers, while the federal and provincial governments are seeking to determine Stellantis's responsibilities and the future of industrial investment.

The upcoming meeting remains an important test of whether the parties can reach a settlement that preserves jobs and limits the fallout from the closure of one of Ontario's prominent auto plants.