Preventing the Brampton Stellantis plant property from being used for anything other than the auto sector could prevent the American company from “reneging on their obligations” to the auto plant’s 3,000 workers, Brampton Mayor Brown says.

A motion passed by Brampton City Council on Wednesday will see the city zone the land where the plant sits used “explicitly for the purposes of automotive assembly and related automotive manufacturing.”

“So, if Stellantis thinks they can go and build condos there, they can fly a kite – this is for auto jobs,” the mayor said in council chambers on Wednesday, leading to applause from the audience which included plant workers and members of Unifor Local 1285.

Stellantis, which employs around 3,000 workers in Brampton, announced in October that the production of the Jeep Compass was being shifted away from Brampton to the U.S., despite years of assurances that the Jeeps would be built in Canada.

The Stellantis plant property was gifted from the city to Chrysler back in the ‘80s, before transitioning to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and eventually Stellantis. The motion passed on Wednesday means the property can only be used for auto sector jobs – a move that could “make sure those jobs come back to our city,” Brown said.

The company has also received production and job incentives from Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and stepping away from those deals is “offensive to Brampton” and “an insult to the hardworking, life-long dedicated workers at the plant,” Brown said.

Part of the plant property was broken off and sold last year to help pay for the plant’s retooling, Coun. Gurpartap Singh Toor said.

READ MORE: Union pushing Stellantis to re-open Brampton Assembly plant

The motion passed with the unanimous support of Brampton City Council, and Brown said Ford is “enthusiastically supportive” of the move. Ottawa has also launched a dispute resolution process against Stellantis over the company’s decision to move from Brampton to the U.S.

Vito Beato, president of the union representing Stellantis auto workers in Brampton, echoed Brown’s comments and said that the zoning motion “shouldn’t matter” to Stellantis if they really do have “big plans for Brampton.”

Brown said Stellantis has allowed itself to be “bullied” by President Donald Trump’s attack on Canada’s economy with tariffs, while Beato said Stellantis is “appeasing” the Trump administration.

Speaking to reporters at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto earlier this month, Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley reiterated that the shutdown of the Williams Parkway plant was “a pause” and that the company still intends to build cars in Brampton.

And while the company has repeatedly said they have “big plans” for the Brampton plant, Brown called those promises “spin,” “PR and excuses.”

“They’re trying to play a PR game to divert us from the fact that we don’t have a product at this plant that was promised to us, that is owed to us, based on the subsidies that were given,” Brown said.

More than 200 workers at the Stellantis Brampton plant are now punching in at the American automaker’s Windsor facility. Hourly workers impacted by the operational pause will continue to receive 70 per cent of their salary, as well as health benefits, the company says.


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