Canada threatened legal action against automaker Stellantis on Wednesday over what Ottawa says is the company’s unacceptable plan to shift production of one model to a U.S. plant.
Stellantis announced a $13 billion investment in the U.S. on Tuesday, a move it said would bring five new models to the market. As part of the plan, production of the Jeep Compass will move to Illinois from a facility in Brampton in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly sent a letter to Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa noting that the company had agreed to maintain its Canadian presence in exchange for substantial financial support.
“Anything short of fulfilling that commitment will be considered a default under our agreement,” she said. If Stellantis did not live up to its commitment Canada would “exercise all options, including legal,” she said.
A copy of the letter was made available to Reuters. The existence of the letter was first reported by Bloomberg.
Stellantis had paused retooling of the Brampton plant in February, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs against Canadian goods, upending the highly integrated North American auto industry.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa had made clear it expected Stellantis to fulfill the undertakings it had made to the workers at the plant.
“We are working with the company to develop the right measures to protect Stellantis employees,” he said.
Ontario is Canada’s industrial heartland and accounts for about 40% of national GDP.
“I have spoken with Stellantis to stress my disappointment with their decision,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on social media on Wednesday.
Stellantis spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin said the company was investing in Canada and noted plans to add a third shift to a plant in Windsor, Ontario.
“Canada is very important to us. We have plans for Brampton and will share them upon further discussions with the Canadian government,” she said in an emailed statement.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Rod Nickel and Deepa Babington)
