Ontario premier urges Stellantis to secure production model for Brampton plant

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province has urged Stellantis to identify a vehicle model that can be produced at the company’s Brampton assembly plant, emphasizing the need for jobs in the region. Ford told reporters that he had spoken with Stellantis representatives late last week about the plant’s future and stressed that the government wants “more jobs” and does not want the facility to import kits from abroad.

“We need jobs there and we can’t bring in kits from China. No, because that will be unacceptable. We need them to find a vehicle, a model, that works,” Ford said.

Stellantis suspended operations at the Brampton plant in 2023, leaving over 2,000 workers idle. In September, the automaker signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel, a local armored-vehicle manufacturer, for a potential sale of the site. Both Stellantis and Roshel have said they have “nothing to announce” about the plant, and the union representing the workers, Unifor, has said the company has not confirmed or denied whether the sale is final.

Unifor’s statement called for “honest information” for its members and asked that any conditions of a sale be made public. At a press conference, Ford declined to comment on the rumored transaction, saying the priority is to get a production model into the plant and create jobs.