Mayor Matthew Shoemaker is calling on the province and feds to provide more help for a thousand steelworkers who lost their jobs today

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker wants the province and the federal government to step up and help after more than a thousand workers were laid off today at Algoma Steel.

Shoemaker called it “a very challenging day” at the start of today’s council meeting.

“Our entire community stands ready to support all those affected.

“A thousand layoffs is something we’ve been hearing fairly consistently for the past three months,” he said.

“But those are not just numbers – these are people who have built their lives around this industry, and the impacts will be felt across households and throughout our community,” Shoemaker said.

The city is focused on doing everything it can to support those workers and to spur economic activity, he said.

“We will continue to do everything within our power to help those feeling the consequences of these layoffs, but it is important to be clear: this moment requires more funding than the city has access to.

“We need meaningful support from both the federal and provincial governments to get through this period successfully,” he said, adding that both levels of government have responded to the tariffs.

“Now they need to direct that same level of attention and urgency to the workers and the broader community that is feeling the impact of these decisions,” Shoemaker said.

Since Algoma Steel began pursuing electric arc technology, Shoemaker has said he’s felt it would be a failure “if it did not come with a plan for the jobs that faces elimination as a result of that transition.”

Governments supported and encouraged this transition – and with that support comes a responsibility, he said.

“That responsibility is to ensure that communities like Sault Ste. Marie are not left behind as these changes unfold,” he said.

“I have been consistent in raising that point, and I will continue to do so,” Shoemaker said.

This is exactly why the Port of Sault Ste. Marie project is so important.

“We have the executive summary on the business case on the agenda for tonight’s meeting,” he said.

“This project represents a real, tangible opportunity to respond to what our community is facing right now with nearly 800 prospective direct jobs that could be created once the Port is up and running.”

Shoemaker said he’s had positive meetings with Steven MacKinnon, the federal minister of transportation, and with Premier Doug Ford’s office.

“There is an understanding that this project is aligned with where both levels of government are trying to go.

“It meets national and provincial priorities around strengthening domestic supply chains, supporting trade and transportation infrastructure, building more resilient northern economies, and creating good-paying jobs in communities that have long supported Canada’s industrial base,” he said.

In addition to industrial jobs, there are also office positions, secondary jobs, and jobs in the service sector, like grocery stores, restaurants and retailers that are going to feel the impact of these layoffs.

“On this front, I and council continue to advocate to the province to ensure that the OLG is filling as many jobs as they possibly can in the Soo, and making the case that all the OLG jobs should be in the Soo going forward,” Shoemaker said.

“We have intensified our lobbying efforts on the province, and I will continue to do so until we see results in the form of a greater presence here than they currently have.”

The city will do everything it can to ensure there are opportunities in the Sault for every person affected by today’s layoffs, Shoemaker said.

“We invite you, the community, to advocate to your federal representative, and directly to the provincial government, to advance the Soo’s cause at both Queen’s Park and at Parliament,” he said.