On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney called Stellantis’ now-confirmed plans to sell an automotive assembly plant in Brampton, Ont., “a betrayal” of the global automaker’s “obligations to Canada and by extension to all Canadians.”
But a previously obtained copy of the multi-million-dollar funding deal between Stellantis and the federal government suggests the carmaker had a way out when it came to closing the Brampton plant.
The copy of the 2022 agreement, obtained earlier this year by CBC News, is partially redacted, so not all the terms are visible.
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Still, a provision added to the deal in 2023 specifically says closing the Brampton plant before 2035 would be a violation of the contract if circumstances beyond the automaker’s “reasonable control” made the facility “commercially unviable,” and Stellantis was “unable to produce substantial evidence that it has promptly taken all reasonable commercial efforts to secure alternative mandates for the Brampton.”
In more basic terms, if Stellantis could provide “substantial evidence” that it had tried to find other options for Brampton, it might not be in violation of the deal, under which the company has received at least $220 million in federal funding for its facilities in Brampton and Windsor, Ont.
The Brampton Assembly Plant, in Brampton, Ont., is pictured on Oct. 15, 2025 — the day Stellantis announced it would be moving vehicle production to the U.S. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The specific language around Stellantis’ contractual commitments with Ottawa has returned to the political forefront since Monday, when the automaker confirmed plans to sell the Brampton plant to defence contractor Roshel.
Windsor West MP Harb Gill, who serves as the Conservative shadow minister responsible for the auto sector, says the language in the deal around circumstances beyond Stellantis’ “reasonable control” needed to be more specific.
“Obviously Stellantis is going to say it was the tariff or the trade war and things of that nature,” Gill said Tuesday. “But what sort of proof or evidence did the government ask in return to say, why is this not commercially viable? Tell us how it’s not viable because you’re still producing or you’re just moving production from Canada to the U.S. and you’re still selling the same product.”
Harb Gill, the Conservative MP for Windsor West, in Windsor, Ont., in July 2026. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)
The federal government on Tuesday did not answer questions about why it agreed to that language or whether Stellantis has argued that tariffs have made the plant commercially unviable.
Stellantis, for its part, said the company is “not commenting on specific legal interpretations or discussions with the government while those matters are being addressed.” The spokesperson also noted the sale of the plant to defence contractor Roshel is not complete; rather, the parties have signed an asset purchase agreement, “a step toward the proposed transaction.”
Stellantis announced last year that it was shifting planned production of the Jeep Compass from Brampton to Belvedere, Ill., unleashing a political firestorm over the public funding the company has received.
In December, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the federal government would serve Stellantis with a notice of default under its contracts with Ottawa.
Stellantis was also a party to funding agreements worth up to billions with the NextStar Energy battery plant in Windsor, formerly a joint venture between the automaker and LG Energy Solution. However, Stellantis sold its stake in the project earlier this year.
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It’s unclear where, exactly, the formal contractual dispute process over Brampton stands. Asked about it Tuesday, a spokesperson for the federal industry department said that for “over a year, [the] government and Unifor have worked in good faith to find a resolution, yet Stellantis has chosen once again to breach the commitments it made.
“This is a direct betrayal of Brampton workers and its obligations to Canadians,” the spokesperson added.
“As the Prime Minister made clear, our government will use every tool at our disposal and the full force of the law to enforce our rights, safeguard Canadian tax dollars, and fight for justice and jobs for these workers.”
On Tuesday night, however, CTV News reported the federal government was involved in the talks to sell Brampton to Roshel, citing three unnamed sources. CBC News has not independently confirmed that reporting.
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In a statement Monday confirming the purchase agreement, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the automaker is “opening new opportunities for Stellantis in the defence industry, and creating a path to return the Brampton facility to productive industrial use.”
The news has prompted backlash from opposition MPs and Unifor, which represents the Brampton plant’s more than 2,000 unionized employees who have been laid off since 2023.
Stellantis said Tuesday that it recognizes “that Canadians expect accountability for public funding” and that the company “has offered to voluntarily return the government support received for Brampton Assembly’s original retooling plan.”
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But the company declined to say how much of the funding it will return and when, citing confidentiality provisions in the contracts.
The industry department said Joly “will convene a meeting in Toronto” on Thursday with Stellantis executives, Unifor National President Lana Payne, and the province.
Payne’s office declined an interview request Tuesday, but told CBC’s Power and Politics that the government still has options to halt the sale of the Brampton plant — and finding out the conditions of the sale will be key.
“All we needed here was for the government to hold the line, said Payne, whose union has reached a stalemate with Stellantis in its latest round of collective bargaining. “We’ve already seen conditions for this trade war changing in the U.S.”
Gill, for his part, says Conservatives on the House’s industry committee will want to look into the Stellantis situation and call Joly before the panel soon.
