Canada Threatens Lawsuit Against Stellantis Over Brampton Plant Sale

Canada has threatened to sue Stellantis and claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding after the automaker shifted planned vehicle production from Brampton, Ontario, to Illinois and agreed to sell its idled assembly plant there to armored vehicle maker Roshel.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Ottawa issued Stellantis a formal notice of default on Nov. 12, alleging breaches of a 2022 funding agreement. The automaker has 30 days to address the violations or face legal action.

"We sent a notice of default and, basically, they have 30 days or else. Of course, we'll sue them," Joly told reporters in Toronto.

What did Stellantis do?

Canada committed up to C$529 million (US$380 million) in 2022 to help Stellantis retool its Brampton and Windsor plants for electric vehicle production. The deal came with production commitments attached.

Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest carmaker, abandoned plans to build the Jeep Compass at Brampton and moved that production to Illinois. The shift left more than 2,000 Canadian workers without jobs. Joly said the company violated the agreement by abandoning Brampton production without identifying a replacement vehicle.

"Stellantis is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars," she said.

A message left with a Stellantis spokesperson was not immediately returned.

The production move sits squarely inside President Donald Trump's trade war. Trump's tariffs have squeezed Canada's auto sector, which is deeply integrated with U.S. manufacturing, and he has repeatedly pushed automakers to relocate production south of the border.

What does the plant sale change?

On Nov. 9, Stellantis announced it had agreed to sell the Brampton plant to Roshel, a Canadian armored vehicle manufacturer. Stellantis offered to repay the government funding it received for the Brampton project but declined to disclose the amount.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the sale a partial solution that fails to fulfill the company's obligations, accusing Stellantis of betraying Canadian workers.

Joly said federal and Ontario officials plan to meet with Stellantis' global chief executive as the dispute escalates.

Where does that leave workers?

Unifor President Lana Payne said a four-party meeting on Nov. 12 — involving Stellantis, the union, and the federal and Ontario governments — failed to produce a resolution.

"The time to stop that was last week, the week before and the week before that," Payne said. "Now we're going to a different situation. We can't stop the sale. The sale has occurred, so we would have to reverse it, which is doubly difficult, obviously."

The stakes for Canada's economy are large. Autos rank as the country's second-largest export, and Carney has noted the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly, with almost another 500,000 in related industries.

What happens next?

The 30-day clock is running. If Stellantis does not cure the alleged default, Ottawa says it will go to court to recover the funding. Any repayment figure from the automaker remains undisclosed, and the fate of the more than 2,000 displaced Brampton workers hangs on whether the Roshel takeover and any government pressure can restore manufacturing jobs at the site.