The head of Stellantis told MPs Wednesday the automaker is committed to maintaining production in Canada and supporting Canadian autoworkers, but that expanding investment will require more trade “certainty.”
Stellantis president Jeff Hines told the House of Commons industry committee the decision to move planned production from Brampton, Ont., to the U.S. announced this month was “not taken lightly,” but acknowledged U.S. tariffs had upended its business strategy.
He said laid-off Brampton workers are getting priority placement at Stellantis’ new battery production plant in Windsor — a project supported by nearly $15 billion in federal subsidies — and transfer opportunities to other Stellantis plants “wherever possible.”
Workers will also see extended benefits as the company works on providing them a “long-term, sustainable operation.”
Hines added Stellantis is committed to bringing a new product to Brampton to replace the Jeep Compass, but added a long-term solution to tariffs and Canada-U.S. trade will be necessary.
Asked repeatedly by Conservatives if government contracts signed with Stellantis for subsidies included nationwide guarantees to preserve Canadian jobs, Hines wouldn’t directly answer.
“We certainly appreciate all of the support that we’ve gotten from both the provincial and federal government,” he said. “But certainly, this is also an unusual time over the last nine months especially, certainly more fluid than any of us expected when those contracts were completed.”
Unifor, which represents the Brampton plant workers, has said Stellantis committed to keep production of the Jeep Compass in Canada, something Hines did not dispute.
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Asked later in the meeting if she had confidence in Hines’ statements on Stellantis’ commitments to Canada, Unifor national president Lana Payne said no.
“They just violated a commitment to us,” she said. “There was not one word of commitment that I heard there in terms of whatever other product that they’re talking about. We already have a product.”
The Brampton plant, which has been down since early 2024 to prepare for the new production line, had about 3,000 employees before it closed.
Hines also wouldn’t directly criticize U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, instead reiterating that more a more stable trade environment was necessary.
He said Stellantis has been in conversations with Ottawa about tariff relief and securing new trade agreements ever since Trump first started imposing tariffs on Canada and the rest of the world early this year.
Trump has said his global tariffs on vehicles and auto parts is intended to drive auto manufacturing back to the United States, raising fears about the future of the Canadian industry.
Speaking to the Senate foreign affairs and international trade committee Wednesday, Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman said she doesn’t believe the Trump administration is intent on “destroying” the Canadian auto sector.
She pointed to comments Trump made alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney in a White House meeting early this month about finding ways for both countries’ industries to succeed and collaborate while also competing.
“I believe that to be true, and I believe that to be true based on more technical discussions that I have had here in Washington,” she said.
“I am confident that we are going to find some kind of a path.”
Stellantis announced earlier this month it will move production of its Jeep Compass from the Brampton plant to Illinois, as part of a $13-billion investment in the U.S.
Conservatives this month successfully passed a motion at the industry committee for members to see the contracts between Stellantis and the federal government, to see if they included binding “guarantees” for Canadian jobs and production in Brampton in exchange for billions of dollars in federal subsidies.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly has threatened Stellantis with retaliation, “including legal,” and has insisted Conservatives will see the government negotiated “well” on behalf of auto workers.
However, she also told MPs in question period last week that job protections were contingent on battery production in Windsor, which has yet to begin.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Stellantis’ global CEO Antonio Filosa gave him assurances following the U.S. production shift announcement that the automaker is looking at filling the Brampton plant with a new model.
However, Carney said he was told a decision would require more trade certainty and may have to wait until after next year’s review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade, which is expected to focus in part on the future of the North American auto manufacturing supply chain.
Ottawa has since reduced the number of U.S.-made vehicles Stellantis can import into Canada tariff-free by 50 per cent in response to the Brampton plant shutdown.
Similarly, General Motors will also see a 24 per cent cut to its tariff quota after announcing it will end electric delivery van production at its plant in Ingersoll, Ont., as planned in November because of low demand.
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