Industry Minister Joly denies involvement in Stellantis-Roshel plant sale

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly's office rejected media claims that the federal government played an active role in negotiations leading to automaker Stellantis selling its Brampton, Ontario assembly plant to defence contractor Roshel. A spokesperson for the minister said the reports were inaccurate and that Joly did not meet with Roshel.

"The minister had no part in negotiating with Stellantis or Roshel on the deal," the spokesperson said. "The minister was in a conflict resolution role between Stellantis and the union. That's it. The minister didn’t meet Roshel."

The spokesperson added that Joly participated in discussions between Stellantis and Unifor, the union representing more than 9,000 Canadian workers at the automaker, to address the company's decision to shift production previously planned for the Brampton plant to the United States. The move, announced in October 2025, was said to breach Stellantis' commitments to Ottawa tied to a federal Strategic Response Fund of up to $529 million.

"Reporting that the minister was involved in the Roshel deal is false because the minister, the department and the team would have never approved or agreed to a deal that, first, did not honour their commitment under the SRF, but, second, lacked the union’s approval," the spokesperson said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney described the sale as a violation of Stellantis' obligations under several agreements and called it "unacceptable" and a betrayal of workers and Canadians. Earlier reports from CTV News and CBC News cited unnamed sources claiming the government was regularly engaged in talks with Stellantis and Roshel and was aware of the potential sale for months.

Stellantis announced the sale to Roshel for an undisclosed amount, with the transaction expected to close by the end of the year pending government and regulatory approvals. Roshel CEO Roman Shimonov said the company intends to re-hire some of the roughly 2,000 workers laid off when the plant halted operations in 2023.

Joly is scheduled to meet on Thursday in Toronto with Stellantis leadership, Unifor representatives and Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli to discuss the situation.

"This is not the outcome we wanted and we have no choice but to find Stellantis in default of their obligation," the spokesperson said.