Canada Gives Stellantis 30 Days Before Suing Over Brampton Plant
Canada's industry minister served Stellantis with a notice of default over its planned sale of the idled Brampton, Ontario, plant. Ottawa says the carmaker could owe hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support. Stellantis has offered to return $24 million.
Canada's Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said on Thursday that the government has given Stellantis 30 days to address alleged breaches of a federal funding agreement or face a lawsuit, escalating a Canada Stellantis federal funding dispute over its idled Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant.
Joly told reporters in Toronto that Ottawa had served the automaker with a formal notice of default. "They have 30 days — or else, of course, we will sue them," she said.
What triggered the notice
Stellantis said on Monday it had agreed to sell the Brampton plant to Canadian armored vehicle maker Roshel for an undisclosed amount. Joly said the announcement violated the company's contractual commitments to the Canadian government and to workers at the site.
She added that Stellantis was now "on the hook" for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the situation at the plant "unacceptable" and a "betrayal" of its workers.
Stellantis offers $24 million
Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley said on Thursday that the company would return $24 million in federal subsidies. That falls well short of the government's estimate of what the company owes.
"While our decision to sell the plant represents a change from the original plans for Brampton, the agreement we have advanced with a Canadian manufacturer provides a path to return the facility to productive industrial use," Longley said.
Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, also said it remains ready to work with Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union. The aim would be a settlement to help union-represented employees.
A company spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on Friday morning.
Trade war backdrop
The standoff comes as the United States and Canada remain locked in a trade dispute. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressed automakers to move vehicle production south of the border.
Stellantis scrapped plans to build the Jeep Compass at Brampton and shifted future production to a factory in Illinois, citing U.S. auto tariffs and other market pressures.
Its Milan-listed shares are down more than 60% so far in 2026.
Concerns over the buyer's plans
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has raised separate alarms. In a letter to Carney this week, he wrote that Canada cannot "undermine the future of Canada and Ontario's automotive sector by allowing the introduction of Chinese-made knock-down kits" at the Brampton facility.
Ford said assembling Chinese electric vehicle kits in Canada would put more than 75,000 jobs at risk. Reports say Stellantis will lease back part of the plant from Roshel for that purpose.
Carney is due to travel to China again next week.
