Cleveland-Cliffs wants to meet with Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly as she demands a timeline to reverse planned job cuts at Stelco. John Vennavally-Rao reports. <\/p>\n
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said Wednesday he hopes to bring back laid-off Stelco workers before Christmas if a plan to increase Canadian sales succeeds.<\/p>\n
He said the company is now counting on increased purchases of Canadian-made steel, rather than tighter import restrictions, to restore jobs at its Ontario operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will depend on Canadian customers buying Canadian steel, made by Stelco,\u201d Goncalves said in a statement to The Canadian Press. \u201cIf our plan works, my intention is to call back all the 175 workers before Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an internal letter to employees on Sept. 28, Stelco said up to 500 workers at its Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works operations could be affected by layoffs. The steelmaker cited U.S. tariffs, weak demand for Canadian steel and competition from imported steel products as reasons for the layoffs.<\/p>\n
But Goncalves clarified Wednesday that only 175 workers have been laid off.<\/p>\n
Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, which represents workers at Stelco\u2019s Hamilton plant, confirmed that 175 workers have been laid off in Hamilton, while no layoffs have yet taken place at Lake Erie Works.<\/p>\n
He accused Cleveland-Cliffs of using the layoffs to pressure Ottawa into tightening restrictions on foreign steel imports.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just caused a lot of pain and grief for 175 people,\u201d Wells said. \u201cObviously, we\u2019re against using our members as pawns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly put Cleveland-Cliffs on notice last week to address alleged violations of its commitments under the Investment Canada Act, including employment guarantees, or face potential legal action.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018The clock is ticking\u2019<\/p>\n
In an emailed statement Wednesday responding to Goncalves\u2019 proposed plan to recall workers, Joly reiterated that the company must provide a concrete plan and timeline for bringing employees back before she will agree to meet with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a real plan from them to show us they are working in good faith,\u201d she said. \u201cThe clock is ticking.\u201d<\/p>\n
The layoff announcement came roughly two years after Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Stelco in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believed that we could sell cold rolled and galvanized steel within the Canadian domestic market, and that part did not materialize and has not improved yet,\u201d Goncalves said in the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said since Ottawa is unwilling to further restrict imports of cold-rolled and galvanized steel, Stelco will have to rely on its own efforts and Canadian customers to restore sales, production and jobs.<\/p>\n
Goncalves also said Stelco will not be sold for at least the next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not talk to any buyers, real or imaginary, now or within the next calendar year,\u201d Goncalves said. \u201cConversely, after we demonstrate one year of higher production numbers, and also have brought all the 175 workers back to their jobs, I will be glad to sell the company, and only if I decide to do so by then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joly has warned that Cleveland-Cliffs could be forced to sell Stelco if it fails to meet its binding commitments.<\/p>\n
Goncalves said Joly is discouraging foreign investment in Canada by publicly discussing potential buyers for Stelco and criticizing the company\u2019s business decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I knew \u2014 or even suspected \u2014 that I would be subjected to this type of treatment when I made a business decision within the boundaries of undertakings that I am in full compliance (with), I certainly would not have invested in Canada,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re in contact with our lawyers\u2019<\/p>\n
Joly and Cleveland-Cliffs have also clashed over U.S. tariffs, which Goncalves has supported and Ottawa says have hurt Canadian steelworkers and contributed to the layoffs.<\/p>\n
Joly told reporters Wednesday the federal government is consulting its lawyers about remarks by Goncalves suggesting he bought Stelco to protect his company\u2019s U.S. operations from Canadian competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in contact with our lawyers … to see what could be the consequences of such confessions,\u201d she told reporters, referring to Goncalves\u2019 comments during a televised interview.<\/p>\n
Goncalves told CBC News on Tuesday that he bought Stelco because the Canadian company was flooding the U.S. market with steel and undercutting prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cI bought Stelco because I could not afford anymore having Stelco flooding the market here in the United States to the detriment of my own company,\u201d he told Power & Politics host David Cochrane.<\/p>\n
The dispute also drew criticism from Liberal MPs on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, with Hamilton-area MP Lisa Hepfner accusing Cleveland-Cliffs of buying Stelco to undermine its Canadian operations and strengthen its U.S. business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did not want that company to survive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi, a former international trade lawyer, said Cleveland-Cliffs must honour its legally binding commitments regardless of its reasons for buying Stelco, calling them \u201cironclad obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The feud also reached Queen\u2019s Park, where Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli accused Cleveland-Cliffs of changing its story and supporting U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019ve been disingenuous right from the very beginning,\u201d Fedeli said. \u201cThey are on the team that has supported tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
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