Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to “fire” Industry Minister Mélanie Joly following automaker Stellantis’s agreement to sell its Brampton, Ont., assembly plant.
Poilievre made the comments at a Nov. 10 press conference in Brampton, accusing Joly of not doing enough to protect Canadian auto-sector jobs and not following through on threats of legal action against companies moving production to the United States.
Citing the Stellantis plant sale and job cuts at steelmaker Stelco, Poilievre said Joly had issued warnings to companies but failed to prevent job losses or recover positions that had been eliminated. He also accused the minister of mishandling billions of dollars in taxpayer support to companies that subsequently moved production out of Canada.
“We expect Canadians also to get the billions of tax dollars back that the Liberals handed over to this multinational corporation,” he said.
Stellantis announced Nov. 9 that it had signed an agreement to sell its Brampton assembly plant and associated equipment to Canadian armoured vehicle maker Roshel for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to government and regulatory approvals.
Stellantis said in a release that the announcement will “create a path to return Brampton Assembly Plant to productive industrial use.”
The Brampton plant had been slated for retooling to produce the next generation of the Jeep Compass. Work began in early 2024 but was paused in early 2025. Stellantis subsequently announced that it would move planned production of the vehicle to Illinois, leaving the Ontario facility idle.
Poilievre said about 3,000 Canadian jobs were moving to the United States and criticized what he described as “vague promises” of a smaller number of replacement jobs at lower wages. He also said the new jobs could require additional taxpayer support.
The Conservative leader said the federal government had committed $15 billion in support to Stellantis, only for the company to move production out of Canada. He called on Ottawa to take legal action to recover the money.
The $15 billion figure refers to a 2023 joint federal and Ontario government commitment to Stellantis and battery partner LG Energy Solution over 10 years. The funding was structured as performance incentives tied to a battery manufacturing investment in Windsor, Ont., and included commitments to maintain the company’s Canadian operations.
Poilievre also said Canadian automotive production had fallen by 33 percent since 2019 and declined by another 8 percent in 2025, before further layoffs at plants in Ingersoll and Oshawa, Ont., Sainte-Thérèse, Que., and Brampton.
Joly has sent several letters to Stelco warning that the steelmaker could face financial penalties or a forced sale of its Canadian assets after announcing plans to lay off about 500 workers. Stelco is owned by U.S.-based Cleveland-Cliffs, which acquired the company for $3.4 billion in 2024.
On Nov. 6, after a 15-day deadline for Stelco to address the planned layoffs expired, Joly asked the Competition Bureau to examine whether Cleveland-Cliffs’ conduct warranted enforcement action under the Competition Act.
Joly has also said the federal government has hired lawyers to pursue possible legal action over alleged breaches of employment commitments made when Ottawa approved the Stelco acquisition. Stelco has said U.S. tariffs have made Canadian steel production unsustainable.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Nov. 10 that the situation with Stellantis is “completely outrageous,” and the company was failing to respect its commitment to workers.
When asked by reporters about Poilievre’s call for Joly to be fired, the prime minister said Joly will “continue to fight” for Canadians in her current role.
“The issue is not the exceptional work of the Minister of Industry, Madame Joly, and her colleagues. It is the behaviour of the company versus those workers,” he said.
