Strike ‘remains a real possibility’ as negotiation deadline approaches
Unifor is putting Ottawa's handling of the Stellantis Brampton file under direct scrutiny.
Union president Mélanie Joly sent a formal letter to the government, demanding answers on the automaker's potential plant sale. The union's collective agreement with Stellantis expires Sept. 20, 2026, adding urgency to a dispute that has already stalled contract talks.
Payne wrote to federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly on Sept. 17, 2026, asking whether the memorandum of understanding (MOU) breaches Stellantis' funding commitments to Ottawa.
"Selling that plant in the middle of a trade war, and in the middle of collective bargaining, is indefensible," Payne said.
The plant has sat idle since 2023, after Stellantis paused a planned Jeep Compass retooling and later moved that work to the U.S. Greg Layson, online editor at Automotive News Canada, ties the Brampton commitments to a $15-billion performance incentive from the federal and Ontario governments.
Payne said Unifor prefers a settlement without strike action, though it "remains a real possibility" as the Sept. 20 deadline nears. Joly says her office is applying "maximum pressure" on Stellantis.
Bargaining stalls as sale talks surface
The impasse traces back to Sept. 11, 2026, when Stellantis signed its MOU with Roshel, a Canadian armoured vehicle maker, over a possible sale of the idled Brampton plant. Unifor spokesperson Kathleen O'Keefe said the proposal "has hindered the bargaining process," warning a closure and sale "threaten the wages, pensions and other benefits of Unifor members," according to a previous CBC report.
Trevor Longley, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Stellantis Canada in Windsor, Ont., framed the arrangement differently, saying Roshel "represents a strong path to restoring sustainable operations at Brampton Assembly, preserving the site's strategic role in Canada's advanced manufacturing sector," acording to the same report.
Roman Shimonov, chief executive officer of Roshel in Toronto, said his company has "an ambitious plan to establish a Canadian Centre of Excellence for Defence Manufacturing in Brampton," and has pledged first consideration to laid-off Unifor members returning to work at the site, CBC previously reported.
Unifor Local 1285 president Vito Beato said "no third party should be getting involved in any of our bargaining, and especially in discussions of the future of our assembly plant."
The dispute lands amid a wider labour strain. Statistics Canada reported the economy shed 42,000 jobs in August, a trend tied to Canada's trade war with the US reshaping national workforce planning.
Retaliatory tariffs have deepened the risk, per an analysis of Canada's retaliatory tariffs and workforce planning uncertainty. Employment counsel have separately urged employers to manage workforce planning during the tariff war with clear union communication – guidance bearing directly on this dispute.
