Industry Minister Melanie Joly has written to Canadian steel maker Stelco warning if they do not reverse the layoffs of up to 500 workers at their Hamilton steel plant within 15 days, the federal government will start legal action against the company, according to a letter obtained by Global News.
The government maintains Stelco’s U.S. parent company, Cleveland-Cliffs, has broken a 2024 agreement with Ottawa that stated they would not lay off anyone in Canada until 2029.
Joly’s letter claims Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves submitted a business plan to Ottawa saying “we have committed to no layoffs and to maintaining our Canadian management team.”
The text of the agreement between the federal government and Cleveland-Cliffs has not been made public until Joly’s letter, which states the company agreed that “the average aggregate annual employment” of unionized employees in Canada would be “no lower than 1,766, representing 100% of the average aggregate annual full-time equivalent employment of the 12 months ending June 30, 2024.”
The agreement contains similar language about the 603 non-unionized Stelco employees, with the company agreeing to keep “90% of the average aggregate annual full-time equivalent employment of the previous 12 months.”
Cleveland-Cliffs has maintained that they have not broken the employment agreement and do not intended to reverse the layoffs, writing to Joly on Oct. 9 saying “the undertakings do not stipulate a commitment to avoid layoffs nor do they include a requirement that employment levels be above a certain amount on each day of the five years of the undertakings.”
The company has said the up to 500 employees laid off in Hamilton will be offered jobs at their Lake Erie facility but the union representing Stelco workers has told Global News only 40 jobs have been offered to the impacted employees.
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If Cleveland-Cliffs does not change course, Joly warns she will proceed with court action that could see the company be forced to sell their Canadian operations.
A senior government source has told Global News that while legal action is an option, the Carney government recognizes the legal process will take too long to save the jobs in Hamilton and keep the plant fully functioning, leaving Ottawa looking for a faster solution.
While arguing the company has not broken its agreement with the federal government, Cleveland-Cliffs simultaneously argues they “should not be responsible for impacts of external factors beyond its control,” including the Trump administration’s 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel, which the company has blamed as one of the reasons for the layoffs in Hamilton.
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“No one could have anticipated the application, let alone the impact, of the subsequent U.S. tariffs and the disruption it has caused,” the company wrote to Joly.
Despite blaming the U.S. tariffs for financial issues in Hamilton, Goncalves told a U.S. Senate committee in January that once Cleveland-Cliffs purchased Stelco in 2024, they “barred Stelco from selling steel into the U.S.,” adding that: “We need to manufacture it in the United States, not in Canada.”
Goncalves’ vocal advocacy for steel tariffs on Canada has been longstanding and persistent, telling Politico in 2025 that his “fingerprints” were on the Trump administration’s decision to increase steel tariffs on Canada to 50 per cent, adding “I influenced that.”
Goncalves’ support for tariffs on Canadian steel is cited by Joly as another potential violation of the 2024 agreement between Ottawa and Cleveland-Cliffs.
Joly’s letter states the company agreed “be a strong advocate for policies that benefit both the U.S. and Canadian steel industries, including defending the existing Canadian exemption to steel Section 232 tariffs,” that Canada enjoyed prior to the U.S. government putting tariffs on Canadian steel starting in February 2025.
Goncalves doubled down on wanting tariffs on Canadian steel, saying in January that tariffs “must be maintained and not weakened with any exclusions or country exceptions. That applies to Canada.”
Global News reached out to Cleveland-Cliffs for an interview but has yet to receive a response.
Canadian immigration to the US has more than doubled, up 142 percent as per reports published today.
Elbows up!
Stelco should be Canadian. American owned companies pay much less and consider their workers’ lives unimportant.
The liberals are talking tough again. This is going to cost us buckets of money.
Ben, there is no specific number or statement saying Stelco can’t layoff employees for business reasons.
1) It would a cut and dry case
2) They didn’t have anything stating such in the contraxt, just like Stellantis
3) This is nothing but posturing, does nothing as usual for the actual employees.
You best buds the Liberals are talking out of both sides of their mouths. All the while handing Canadian contracts to American companies.
You’re a Muppet that literally just believes everything that comes out of their mouths.
As alluded to below: 1)there is a 25% surtax, countervailing and anti-dumping duties, etc. on Chinese steel 2)the company broke it’s agreement with Canada regarding jobs. But clearly, some commenters below can’t debate the facts without personal attacks because they lack the skill, maturity, intellectual capacity, and any sort of sense of “fair play.” Not all commenters-but some. Cheers!
@Rich
I’m sure you’ve heard this before but give your head a shake !!!
And please seek medical advise
In my 135 years on earth I’ve never seen anyone as incompetent, brain dead, useless, Reetardo, spaztic, empty headed, zombie like, IQ of less than zero, possibly dead since birth, candidates for MAID, abortion, possibly brain removed by aliens, etc etc as LIBERALS AND THEIR VOTERS!
Ha ma name is DUMDUM an I voted liberall
Have Jolly Golly Christmas, have a Lolly Folly Christmas, and a SLAPPY NEW YEAR!
TRUMP will take a dump down carnhole’s throat!
How about instead of threatening them with fines, the government does what they said they were going to do and find them work. I don’t know too many companies, especially in the trades, that will keep guys if there is now work.
Cleveland Cliffs makes an agreement with Canada to buy Stelco and has allegedly breached that agreement, which could lead to a lawsuit. For some reason Canada’s decision to enforce the agreement is way too aggressive for Conservatives who constantly cimplain about it. Conservatives are only happy if Canada adopts the subservient position adopted by all Conservative leaders. Sad that they’re so weak and so willing to sell-out Canada at every opportunity.
Brain dead government, showing why investing in Canada is a mistake
To those talking about Chinese steel, look up “CBSA Measures in Force”; a list of all Canadian Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties Orders against imported products by country of origin. Look at all of the Chinese steel products. Each of the listed Chinese steel products is subject to AD/CV duties when they enter Canada at a rate that offsets the dumping and subsidizing. Since those duties tend to be very high, they restrict the Chinese steel that enters Canada so that the only Chinese steel in Canada is steel that isn’t produced in Canada. On top of that, we’ve had a 25% surtax on all Chinese steel imports for over a year now. So, when anyone says Carney is allowing Chinese steel to flood Canada I don’t know what you’re talking about.
so the Liberals and Joly are chasing another big tenant of canada away so they can flood us with the chinese steel, Carney better quit pretty soon , his ideas suck.
@Hannah. Sweetheart, take your own advice and learn how to spell. It is SPELLED not SPELT. Get a dictionary while you are at it
Tired of Lies. Your comment isn’t clear. Are you saying that a Canadian importer is bringing Chinese steel imto Canada for onward sale to an importer in the States. If so, this would likely be accomplished by landing the Chinese steel in Canada in bond and then shipping it in bond to the US where it would clear US Customs and the US importer would pay the US duties. Where’s the problem?
Well the reason for the tariffs they didn’t report is that China was bringing in steel and selling to the states. While hurting Canadian steel. uS has tariffs on Chinese steel going into the states. So Canada was importing Chinese steel and selling it to the states. This was hurting Canadian steel and American. Canada should do better protecting Canadian steel. The government knew this for some time, because Joe Biden added the tariffs on the steel to 50% from China, they warned Mexico and Canada that Chinese steel was hurting there steel industry…. Canadian government did nothing. Now this happened, the blame should be pointed to our government. They put the needs of China above Canadians and businesses,
This is what journalism looks like.
10 days ago Joly gave Stelco a 5 day deadline now its 15 days next it will be 3 months kind of like Carney’s tariff timeline just push it along .
Canadians should give liberals 15 days notice get out of Ottawa
They are the ones that created this mess
Anonymous @2:55pm and 2:57pm
Anonymous the village idiot…there you are ! Hey stupid, learn to spell. Laugh is spelt like this. Not lough…ps. your posts are child like and idiotic. Much like yourself.
The Federal government is theater reason for layoff and they want to sue them lol stop giving money to ukraine knock it off with the bogus tariff war and pay stelco money to keep the workers otherwise but out
I like watching Melanie Joly, she looks like she can pull chrome steel off my American pipe haha
President DJT!
Sour grape Maple MAGA Cons / bots posting nonsensical garbage…..’shocker’, lol!
The Cons here are upset they lost the last election. Their vague, anti-Carney comments are just a tantrum. Happens when they lose and realize that they have no chance of forming government.
In over 18 months. Carney has got nothing accomplished. Now he wants to sell out Canada to the EU, which he didn’t campaign on.
I think the conservatives in these comments should show us on the doll where Carney hurt them.
They just going to lough at Carney
More job losses in Canada if Carney keeps with his “Elbows Up” approach’. Already 100,000 in job losses the last two months
Anonymous. Prove it.
@Ben 1041 AM. Rule of law? Haha. You are just an AI bot.
Talk is cheap as we have found with Carney who likes making announcements that never come to fruition or which have a minuscule effect on our economy, then after the announcements, just like his predecessor Trudeau, he takes off out of the country to avoid difficult questions.
Online ‘preaching’ on here by butt-hurt Cons are the same ones who professed their love for Harper back in the day…..forgetting that Harper agreed with Carney on walking away from a bad deal and also appointed Carney as Bank of Canada governor when he was PM.
Last week it was 5 days, now they have another 2 weeks. Joly might as well add another 6 months now and save time.
Online bravado by Liberals does not help the situation and it is guaranteed that those same keyboard warriors are not the ones losing their jobs due to Carney’s incompetence.
Butt-hurt Cons on here are same people who would sell out Canada to the US and then brag that they got a deal done, lol!
Facts are facts and the truth is the truth no matter how much some would like it to be different and Carney never got the deal he promised he would get done just a month after being elected. Because Carney has not done a deal Trump increased tariffs on Canadian products and now due to Carney’s inability to get a deal done Canadian workers and families are suffering and will continue to suffer. 100,000 jobs lost in just 2 months is an indicator of just how bad thi gs will get if Carney doesn’t get a deal done with the US.
@Rich Unfortunately you are wrong. Durung the election Carney said he was the only one who could deal with Trump and promised a deal by the end of July 2025 one month after the election. He has failed miserably on that promise and as a result we are left with tariffs that are killing Canadian industry and jobs.
Perhaps, global news can do a story on how Melanie Holy already said the government was going to sue over a week ago. And did nothing. Or, how she didn’t read the stakantuis contract and now they are going to close. Or, how this government gave hundreds of millions to them and we’re not getting that back. ???
@Rich. Quite incorrect. Carneys entire campaign platform that he was the “guy” who could manage Trump and would get a deal done. Just after the election he said it would be done by end of July 2025. Thanks.
@ Ted:
So, let me guess, you think PP would’ve gotten a deal done with the ridiculously nutty 🍊 …..ya, sure, a deal that would’ve totally sold out Canada !
Carney didn’t guarantee a deal with the US, you’d have to be a Con to be that stupid. He fast tracked negotiations with the US but walked when faced with last minute unreasonable US demands. He was right not to accept the deal and he was supported in this by Stephen Harper. You can only get a fair deal if you’re willing to walk away from a bad one. Sorry to see so many Cons who’d be willing to sign anything put in front of them.
Carney should get a deal done just like he promised Canadians back in 2025. He said he was the guy who could “manage” Trump and get a deal completed. Those were Camrys words.
This has nothing to do with Poilievre and has everything to do with Carney’s lack of ability to do what he promised during the election, get a deal with Trump.
The US is our biggest trading partner with 78% of our trade being done in the US. Without easy access to that market Canadian companies will suffer and Canadian jobs will be lost. Stelco has NO MARKET for their steel so they have no choice but to let Canadian workers go. It is 100% on Carney.
I fully support the right of big corporations to screw as many little people as possible as long as I’m not one of them. I’m also going to pretend my King Trump didn’t start this trade war because I can’t be bothered by inconvenient facts.
@Anonymous 1:03 PM. Canada lost over 100,000 jobs last two months and an economy dead last in the G20. Elbows Up is a foolish choice.
How about they make the full text of the deal public that Carney walked away from …
Id been interested to see it
@Vince: Sure sure, keep drinking the trumpkin juice, lol!
The Stelco CEO is neither American or Canadian. He doesn’t have to carry water for Carney and support foolish Elbows Up policies.
Everyone seems to forget that it was the orange that started / created this whole mess with his idiot tarrifs; yes, there was absolutely a big US market for the steel until the 🍊 imposed 50% tariffs! And, by the way, there is a legal contractual obligation on Stelio’s MAGA owner to NOT layoff anyone until 2029!
Anonymous. A demand letter isn’t the first step in litigation, but it can be sent if the claimant wants. The necessary first step is to serve and file a Statement of Claim setting out the issues and arguments. A demand letter isn’t necessary here because the Government has clearly raised this issue with Cleveland-Cliffs and believes that Cleveland-Cliffs can come to a decision that the Government could accept within 15 days. This is the better way to proceed because it could result in an agreed solution rather than a fight through the Courts that could go on for years.
The first step in contract litigation is a demand letter.
Everyone seems to forget that there is no market for the steel because Carney didn’t deal with the tariffs if he had they would still be selling their product. Even if Carney and the Liberals seize the plant or forced a sale they have the same problem they cannot sell the product because of the tariffs. This is not Trumps or PPs problem it falls at the feet of Carney and this Liberal government for not doing what they promised and dealing with the tariffs. For a company no sales means no production which in turn means workers get laid off.
These comments make no sense. Did anyone read the article?
Hope the feds seize the mill and Sue the as_ off this Trumpkin-loving MAGAt!!
It’s a foreign company wanting to screw 500 Canadian workers.
No surprise PP and his bots side with the foreigners again.
Is PP still in Detroit? lol!
Great rep for his Ottawa neighbours!
Oh wait!…..They booted the goof.
blah, blah, blah, all talk, no action
No one frothing at the mouth decrying a business because its owner supports governments that promise to lower taxes, labelling them MAGA, has any business accusing anyone of being cult members…particularly when the government is actively, albeit it in a flailing inarticulate way, trying to keep said business and save Canadian jobs.
It is the unintelligent drivel of a sychphant.
“Anonymous
October 22, 2026 at 10:40 am
This is from a MAGA company owner. MAGA traitors here are celebrating they fired those Canadian workers. Cult MAGA looser. Leave the country since you failed to separate.”
Maga owners need to leave their Canadian business behind if they wish to support Trump.
More tough talk by Carney and Joly. Nothing will come of it. All talk and no action.
This is embarrassing. They said legal action would be coming in days and instead, we get another verbal threat of legal action in 15 days.
This is not negotiation, this is a clown show of people that have no skills for the roles they have been given.
It’s a Monty Python-esque scene.
I see. I understand. Alright. Fine. Almdksmedjissmns2973″!nns
Great news! The rule of law must be enforced.
This is from a MAGA company owner. MAGA traitors here are celebrating they fired those Canadian workers. Cult MAGA looser. Leave the country since you failed to separate.
I’m giving you 5 days….Joly, I’ll give you 7 days….Joly, you have 15 days….Joly,…responce…..Read then contract… Stelco
PP would had walked away and said, nothing we could do.
remember buy Canadian? why would Carney grant a 8 Billion $ + contract to an American steel company for steel, instead of Stelco??? The world is laughing at Canadian Government.
Lmfao. But you already made this threat you stupid monkey.
Liberals are retards.