Canada · Ottawa
Joly Tells Stelco to Keep Its Job Promises
In brief
Canada's industry minister, Melanie Joly, said on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, that Stelco's U.S. owner Cleveland-Cliffs cannot blame tariffs for plans to lay off up to 500 workers at the Hamilton steel plant. She said Ottawa will take enforcement action if the company does not show how it will keep the promises it made when it bought Stelco.
Cleveland-Cliffs received federal approval to buy Hamilton-based Stelco in 2024 under the Investment Canada Act. According to Joly, that approval depended on the new owner keeping the number of union jobs and most non-union positions, including more than 1,500 jobs in total.
The company has said tariffs and market pressure are behind the planned cuts of up to 500 workers. Joly rejected that argument, telling reporters that Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco Goncalves has publicly supported U.S. steel tariffs, so the company cannot treat them as something outside its control, The Canadian Press reported.
Joly sent a letter to Stelco president Paul Simon on Monday asking for a plan that shows how the company will meet all of its commitments. She said Ottawa had not received a reply yet. "These obligations are binding," she said, adding that the government would use "the full force of the law" if the company does not comply.
The minister also drew a line between Stelco and recent layoffs in the auto sector, saying the steelmaker signed legally binding job promises when it was acquired.
Why it matters
Stelco is one of Hamilton's biggest employers, and the case is an early test of how hard Ottawa will push foreign buyers to keep the promises they make under the Investment Canada Act while the trade war with the U.S. continues.
Sources
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