Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada needs “to send a message” by calling out the U.S. owner of Stelco for breaking its promise to protect Canadian jobs.
Cleveland-Cliffs, which owns Stelco, had last month announced it was eliminating 500 jobs and closing part of its site in Hamilton, Ont. The federal government said the potential layoffs go against its commitments under the Investment Canada Act when it purchased Stelco in 2024.
In an interview with CTV News Ottawa Bureau Chief Graham Richardson on CTV Power Play Thursday, Joly said the government wants Cleveland-Cliffs to provide a timeline for how they will restore jobs at the Stelco plant.
She was asked by Richardson about the history of large companies doing what they want after making a deal with the government.
“That doesn’t work,” Joly said. “My point is we are in a trade war right now. We need to send a message.”
While Cleveland-Cliffs blamed U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and low steel prices, the Carney government has pointed out that CEO Lourenco Goncalves, had publicly backed the levies. The company sent a letter to Joly stating that it doesn’t believe it breached its commitments when it bought Stelco in 2024.
Joly said she wants to ensure workers are protected.
“Cleveland Cliffs is not a victim in this. The victims are those affected by the layoffs, are the people that can’t pay for the mortgage right now, can’t pay for their bills,” she said.
The federal government has threatened to take Cleveland-Cliffs to court if it doesn’t stop the layoffs of unionized workers at Stelco’s Hamiton plant. If the company doesn’t stop the cuts, Joly said that the government is considering a forced divestment of assets or financial penalties.
Cleveland-Cliffs told the federal government Monday it’s in full compliance with the promises made in 2024 and that Stelco requested a meeting between Joly and Goncalves to lay out a path towards full employment for affected workers.
“The facts are clear,” Goncalves said in a statement. “We made serious commitments to Canada when we acquired Stelco, and we have honoured them.”
Joly disagreed with the CEO’s remarks.
“They cannot champion and also take credit for American tariffs that are hurting workers on both sides of the border and then turn around and say, ‘you know what? change of market conditions so we don’t need to abide by the investment Canada Act commitments that we took,” Joly said.
“That is why the government is taking a strong stance. We believe we have a strong case.”
With files from CTV News’ Graham Richardson, Heather Wright and The Canadian Press
