Unifor Local 1285 President Vito Beato speaks to Stellantis workers at a rally in Brampton on Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo: Unifor Canada on YouTube)
Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Ottawa will put “maximum pressure” on U.S. automaker Stellantis to build at the idled Brampton assembly plant, and the local union says a strike vote “remains a real possibility.”
“We want a new model from Stellantis at the Stellantis plant, and we’ll put maximum pressure to make that happen, and if they don’t, we’ll get our money back,” Joly said to reporters on Wednesday.
Nearly a year ago, Stellantis announced it was shifting Jeep Compass production from Canada to the U.S., breaking years of assurances that the vehicles would be built in Brampton.
But the company said last week it signed a memorandum of understanding to sell the assembly plant to Brampton-based armoured vehicle manufacturer Roshel.
The announcement came as 10 days of negotiations with Unifor broke down.
But in an update on Wednesday, Unifor Local 1285 says both parties have agreed to an “income security extension” for Brampton workers until either a legal strike or lockout is reached, or if the collective agreement is renewed.
While the union says it is not in a legal strike position, Unifor 1285 says a strike vote “remains a real possibility” while working to reach a tentative agreement with Stellantis.
“The next step for members in this process is participation in strike votes,” the update reads. “If Unifor moves to that stage, your local union will notify you of the date, time and location for strike vote meetings.”
Unifor national president Lana Payne said in a letter to the feds on Wednesday that, if Stellantis does sell the facility, the company will have “abandoned” vehicle production at the plant.
“The company is telling us they are done with Brampton, and everyone needs to know that, especially our governments,” Payne said in a post on Unifor’s social media on Thursday. “We are not accepting this decision and we believe there are other options here. Options that include protecting the auto assembly footprint in this country.”
Joly said on Wednesday that Ottawa “will make sure that we protect Canadian workers” through “any potential sale of the plant to any other company.”
Operations at the Brampton plant were spun down for retooling in preparation for Jeep Compass production that never happened. The Brampton plant has been idle for years, and Unifor is pushing the company for a new project to get crews back on the job.
Canada has launched a dispute resolution process against Stellantis after the feds and the province pledged billions in subsidies to the automaker under various contracts. That included a joint commitment of $15 billion to help Stellantis partner with NextStar/LG for a new electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Windsor.
Brampton City Council passed a motion in February preventing the Brampton Stellantis plant property from being used for anything other than the auto sector.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says he wants to know how many jobs are on the table in the potential Stellantis-Roshel deal, and called the move “a betrayal” of Brampton’s approximately 3,000 auto workers.
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