Stellantis president summoned to Ottawa amid concerns for auto plant’s future in Brampton

Members of parliament will get a closer look at Canada’s contacts with U.S. automaker Stellantis after the company’s president was summoned to Ottawa on Monday following news it won’t be building Jeeps in Brampton.

“What Stellantis announced for the Brampton plant last week was completely unacceptable, and Stellantis has made solemn commitments to this government and to their workers, and they need to honour their commitments, and that’s why we will hold them to account,” Industry Minister Melanie Joly said in the House of Commons on Monday.

The automaker, which employs around 3,000 workers in Brampton, has announced plans to move the upcoming production of the Jeep Compass to the U.S. instead of at the Brampton plant, despite years of assurances.

Joly confirmed that Stellantis Canada President Jeff Hines was summoned to Ottawa on Monday for a meeting, along with representatives from Unifor and the government, to “make sure these jobs stay in Canada.”

A House of Commons committee also approved a study of the feds’ contracts with Stellantis, following a request from Conservative MP Garnett Genuis. Members will get a look at documents and contracts between Stellantis and the government.

Ottawa has said legal action against Stellantis is possible.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that he spoke with the global head of Stellantis and received assurances that there are options for the Brampton plant and support would be provided to local workers.

Premier Doug Ford said he was also been told by the car manufacturer that there are plans for Brampton.

Stellantis said it could lose some $2.6 billion in the first half of 2025 due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs against the auto industry.

In 2023, the company said Brampton would “re-join the Jeep family” with the production of the next generation Jeep Compass. But Stellantis said last week it was scrapping those plans to build the vehicle in the U.S.

A council of Unifor workers at the Brampton plant says it “unequivocally rejects” Stellantis moving Jeep production away from Brampton, and that members “will take all necessary steps to reverse this decision, in coordination with Unifor’s national leadership.”

The union said it was only notified of Stellantis’ decision “minutes before” the public announcement.

“Stellantis’ actions are appalling,” the letter reads, adding that company reps “reassured (members) that the vehicle commitment to Brampton was unchanged” following delays in retooling the plant.