Premier Doug Ford is warning Stellantis that bringing so-called production solutions from China to its idled southern Ontario manufacturing plant is “unacceptable.”
Ford said he spoke with the automaker late last week to discuss the Brampton plant’s future.
“We need jobs there, and we can’t bring in kits from China—can’t happen, and they think they want to bring them in,” he said during an unrelated Nov. 9 press conference. “No, because that will bastardize the whole sector.”
He called that plan “unacceptable” and said the company needs to find a vehicle model “that works.”
Ford’s comments come after Unifor, the union representing Stellantis autoworkers, said it thinks the company has sold the idled assembly plant.
Unifor said on Nov. 6 that it met with Stellantis to seek clarification on reports that the Brampton plant had been sold, but the company would neither confirm nor deny whether the sale had been finalized.
Netherlands-based Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding in September with Brampton-based defence firm Roshel regarding a potential sale. Roshel manufactures armoured vehicles.
Representatives for Stellantis and Roshel said in separate statements last week that they had no announcements to share about the Brampton plant.
The factory built the Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, and Chrysler 300 before production ended in late 2023 so the plant could be retooled to manufacture the next generation Jeep Compass.
The plant’s retooling got underway in 2024 before being suspended in February 2025. The company then announced in October of that year that production of the Compass would shift to the United States, leaving the Brampton plant idle indefinitely.
Unifor said in a Nov. 6 statement that Stellantis “would not confirm or deny” whether the sale has been finalized.
“Further, it would not provide a timeline to address this question,” the union said. “Unifor is interpreting this refusal as confirmation that the Brampton Assembly Plant has been sold. Our members at Brampton deserve the basic respect of a straight answer.”
The union has asked the company to make the conditions of the sale public if the deal has been finalized.
Ford did not speak directly on the rumoured sale during his Nov. 9 press conference, but said Stellantis is “hurting right now.”
“I don’t want to feel like I’m jumping on Stellantis because they employ more people in the auto sector than any other auto company,” he said. “But I support Unifor, our members, our hardworking auto workers, and we need to get a model into that plant one way or another.”
Stellantis has said it is still committed to supporting Canadian jobs and backing innovation but has declined to comment on the future of the Brampton factory, saying it is still negotiating a new collective agreement with Unifor.
If the facility is sold to Roshel, it could be used to make more of its armoured vehicles. The company is best known for producing the flagship Roshel Senator armoured personnel carrier (APC) and protected mobility solutions.
Bloomberg News had reported in April that Stellantis was in preliminary talks with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology about potentially manufacturing Chinese electric vehicles at the idled Brampton assembly plant. Leapmotor is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
