roughly 1,000 workers would lose their jobs<\/a>, marking the largest layoff in Algoma\u2019s more than 125-year history. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CK7MLXHY4FFZFCVBS3BGY6PU4Q.jpeg\")
Algoma Steel layoffs A image from the floor of the Tenaris plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont, where the steel industry is being forced to adapt following layoffs at Algoma Steel. (CTV News) <\/p>\n
Walk through the core of the small city, and you\u2019ll find boarded up businesses, from the local theatre to appliance stores and laundry mats, all shuttered. <\/p>\n
The concern among many here is the Algoma layoffs will make a difficult economic outlook even worse. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe huge impact will be when employment insurance starts running out,\u201d said Da Prat. <\/p>\n
Now the local union boss, Da Prat spent 56 years working at Algoma. He now represents more than 1,200 Algoma workers. <\/p>\n
Speaking to CTV News outside his union office, next door to a derelict part of the city, he says it\u2019s imperative that Canadian steel producers like Algoma diversify from their reliance on the U.S. market. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to develop our own economy, Canada can\u2019t be a vassal to the U.S.,\u201d Da Prat said. <\/p>\n
South Korean defence company Hanwha has announced that it will use steel made at Algoma\u2019s Sault Ste. Marie plant to build armoured weaponized military vehicles in Canada. The deal is contingent on Hanwha winning the lucrative bid to build Canada\u2019s next-generation submarine fleet.<\/p>\n
Hanwha also announced that it has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Algoma Steel to buy its steel products and provide the company with a low-interest loan to convert its Sault. Ste. Marie plant into one that can make steel beams.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3WKHLZOG2BEDVDLU5CTDWH4YVE.jpeg\")
Ontario steel industry Long metal tubes are seeing at the Tenaris plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.. (CTV News) <\/p>\n
Sitting in his office, Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker tells CTV News the Hanwha offer is exactly the type of multi-purpose procurement deal the struggling Canadian community needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis (submarine bid) process needs to be wrapped up so there is some certainty for Algoma and their business outlook,\u201d Shoemaker said. \u201cFrankly, we think the bid that benefits our community is the one that should be selected. I\u2019m aware there\u2019s multiple factors, but this deal would be a big win for Sault Ste. Marie.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are other promising opportunities propelling Sault Ste. Marie\u2019s steel industry. Also in town you\u2019ll find Tenaris, the steel pipe producer employs 800 people in the Ontario town. In May, Tenaris announced a public-private $300-million investment to expand steel pipe production to keep pace with Canada\u2019s oil and gas expansion plans. <\/p>\n
At a recent press conference in May, Industry Minister Melanie Joly told those in attendance that Canada is \u201cfighting back\u201d against stateside economic policies that are hammering Canadian industries.<\/p>\n
The deal,which includes a pledge of more than $70 million from both the Ontario and federal governments, will bring an additional 200 full-time jobs to Tenaris, plus hundreds of separate, spinoff contractor positions over the next three years. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment comes at a time that we are seeing more activity in the oil and gas industry, our steel pipes are a vital component, and at a time when \u2018the Soo\u2019 is going through a rough patch, due to the U.S. steel tariffs that were put in place,\u201d said Tenaris Canada president Martin Castro. <\/p>\n
Speaking to CTV News from his office, Castro says Tenaris is weaning itself off its reliance on the U.S. and is focused on building its domestic output for Canada\u2019s oil and gas sector, and also supports the federal government exploring business opportunities in Asia and Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re developing more and more of our domestic production for Canada, so our exposure to tariffs is going down,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully in a couple months it will be going down to zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
With steely determination, the resilient workforce who call Sault Ste. Marie home are pressing forward.<\/p>\n
With files from CTV News correspondent Judy Trinh <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sault Ste. Marie., Ontario is looking for solutions to fight back against U.S. tariffs. Adrian Ghobrial reports. Along…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[712,45,49,48],"class_list":["post-712801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-apple-news","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}