Stellantis told Unifor on Wednesday that it is seriously considering the closure and sale of its Brampton plant.
The disclosure reached the public on Friday, the same day Canada’s trade minister told an advisory committee that Ottawa and Washington remain far from a deal, with new US tariffs due on August 19.
The union said the automaker, led by Antonio Filosa, intends to open discussions with another firm about a sale. National president Lana Payne declined to name it.
Stellantis has not issued the formal written notice of closure its collective agreement requires. Under that agreement it must give no less than one year’s notice of any closure or sale.
“Our focus remains on finding a sustainable manufacturing solution for Brampton Assembly,” the company said, adding that it was preparing to enter collective bargaining and had nothing to announce.
The Talks Are Not Close
Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister responsible for Canada-US trade, told the Advisory Committee on Canada-US Economic Relations on Friday that the two sides meet at a technical level constantly but have not agreed on key issues, according to a source directly briefed on the meeting who spoke to Reuters.
“They said they’re quite far away from an agreement that the Prime Minister can sign off on,” the source said, adding that in negotiations of this kind nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
LeBlanc is in Washington with his chief trade negotiator and a team of officials, and has met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer four times in three weeks.
His office said he would remain there over the weekend. Candace Laing, chief executive of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the committee, said multiple meetings were planned across the weekend and that both sides were aiming for an interim agreement.
LeBlanc is in Washington with his chief trade negotiator and a team of officials, and has met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer four times in three weeks, Reuters reported. His office said he would remain there over the weekend.
Washington wants movement on Canadian tariffs on US vehicles, on how dairy quotas are allocated and on provinces that refuse to stock American alcohol. Ottawa wants the steel and aluminium tariffs lowered.
The Deadline
The tariffs due on August 19 would apply 50% duties to nearly $20 billion of Canadian goods, about 5.2% of Canada’s exports to the United States, according to Reuters.
Unlike most of the earlier measures, they apply to products that qualify for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — a valid certificate of origin provides no relief.
And they exclude goods already covered by Section 232, which means the vehicles already carrying a 25% tariff are largely outside the action.
The proclamation that names Canada’s treatment of US autos as its justification therefore lands on wine, cement, furniture and similar goods rather than on cars.
That distinction matters for Brampton. The tariffs that emptied the plant are the separate 25% Section 232 duties on vehicles, in force since 2025.
Unifor’s statement blamed “the ongoing auto tariffs imposed by the Trump administration” for the potential closure, and it is those measures rather than Wednesday’s deadline that moved the Jeep Compass to Illinois.
How the Plant Emptied
Brampton stopped building the Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger and Chrysler 300 in December 2023 and entered retooling in January 2024 for the next-generation Jeep Compass.
About 2,200 Unifor Local 1285 members have been on layoff since.
Stellantis paused the retooling in February 2025, citing conditions in the market after the US imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian-built vehicles. For eight months, Unifor says, company representatives told the union the Brampton commitment was unchanged.
Last October, Stellantis announced a US$13 billion American manufacturing plan and moved the Compass to Belvidere, Illinois, committing more than US$600 million to reopen that plant for the Cherokee and Compass with initial production in 2027 and roughly 3,300 jobs.
The Public Money
Stellantis received $529 million from Ottawa in 2022 through the Strategic Innovation Fund to retool Brampton and Windsor, part of a $3.6 billion Ontario investment, with the province providing comparable support.
The funding was contingent on maintaining production at both plants.
Ottawa opened a formal dispute resolution process in November 2025, demanded a plan for Brampton and paused further payments, then served a notice of default in December.
A spokesperson for Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said on Friday that the government has been working to protect workers and keep the plant operating, and is engaging with the company, Unifor and Ontario.
The trade file has produced one Canadian gain this summer.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor opened to traffic on July 27 after years of delay — a crossing built to carry vehicles and components across the border, arriving in the same season Stellantis moved to sell the Ontario plant it had promised to fill.
The Pattern in Canada
The Brampton disclosure is the second Stellantis retreat from a publicly backed Canadian facility this year.
In February the company sold its 49% stake in the NextStar Energy battery plant in Windsor to LG Energy Solution for a nominal US$100, handing full ownership of Canada’s only commercial-scale battery factory to its partner. More than C$5 billion had been invested and Stellantis itself had put in US$980 million. The sale accompanied a charge of roughly €22.2 billion against the company’s electric vehicle investments.
Stellantis remains a customer of the plant, and Trevor Longley, President of Stellantis Canada, told Ontario’s economic development minister that day that the company remained committed to its operations in the province.
The Chinese Option
The alternative Stellantis floated for Brampton in April was assembly of vehicles from Leapmotor, the Chinese manufacturer in which it holds a 21% stake and with which it operates the Leapmotor International joint venture at 51%.
The proposal involved knockdown kits — vehicles largely built in China and finished in Ontario.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it unacceptable and said his government was against it, arguing that kits made in China would undermine every autoworker in the province. Payne said it was not a proposal for assembly and manufacturing.
Joly said any new automotive investment would prioritise Canadian labour and parts suppliers.
What Happens Next
Unifor is negotiating with General Motors and moves to Stellantis next.
The current agreement, which covers Brampton, the Windsor assembly plant and the Etobicoke casting plant, expires in September.
Payne said the union will raise Brampton at the table, and Unifor said it will engage with company executives and every level of government in the coming days and weeks.
“The workers of Brampton and this country deserve so much better,” Payne said at Friday’s press conference.
The union’s written statement placed the blame on trade policy, and on how long it says it has been warning about the consequences:
“This potential closure highlights the dangerous repercussions of the ongoing auto tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. For the past 18 months, Unifor has called repeatedly for action to prevent this type of threat to Canada’s auto sector and the jobs it supports.”
