A week after U.S. President Donald Trump and his commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said they’re coming for Canada’s auto industry, Stellantis announced a $13-billion U.S. manufacturing expansion Tuesday, switching production of the new version of their popular Jeep Compass from Brampton to Illinois.
In a written statement, the head of Canada’s largest private sector union blasted the news.
“Canadian auto jobs are being sacrificed on the Trump altar,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne. “We need the federal government to use Canada’s leverage now to fight for our auto jobs. Stellantis cannot be allowed to renege on its commitments to Canadian workers, and governments cannot stand by while our jobs are shifted to the United States.”
Brampton mayor Patrick Brown also slammed the decision by Stellantis, which comes after the company announced in February that it was pausing the retooling of its Brampton assembly plant, which has been idle for roughly 18 months.
“I am deeply disappointed by Stellantis’ decision to end production of the Jeep Compass at its Brampton Assembly Plant,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday evening. “This announcement represents a step backward from its commitment to modernize and retool the Brampton facility — a commitment that gave its 3,000 workers and their families hope for a secure and sustainable future in auto manufacturing.”
And, warned Brown, more Canadian jobs could be at risk as Trump’s trade war continues.
“This announcement is disheartening for the thousands of highly-skilled, highly-trained and loyal employees who have given so much to this industry,” said Brown. “As Stellantis and others invest heavily in U.S. operations, we risk seeing Canadian manufacturing eroded by trade imbalances, emerging tariff structures and incentive programs that favour American facilities.”
In a statement on X, Prime Minister Mark Carney blamed Trump’s tariffs for the Stellantis decision.
“Today’s decision is a direct consequence of current U.S. tariffs and potential future U.S. trade actions,” Carney wrote. “Together with the government of Ontario and Unifor, we are working with the company to develop the right measures to protect Stellantis employees. … We have further made clear that we expect Stellantis to fulfill the undertakings they have made to the workers of Brampton.”
In a written statement, Stellantis acknowledged that it would be moving “one model” from Canada to the U.S.
“We have been in Canada for over 100 years, and we are investing. We are adding a third shift to the Windsor Assembly Plant to support increased demand of all versions of the Chrysler Pacifica and the new SIXPACK-powered Dodge Charger Scat Pack and R/T models. Canada is very important to us. We have plans for Brampton and will share them upon further discussions with the Canadian government.”
Unifor and other industry sources said the model in question is a new version of the Compass. The previous version is being made in Mexico.
The head of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association was skeptical about the unspecified plans mentioned by Stellantis.
“I hope those plans include a vehicle. Anything less than a vehicle is going to mean less work for parts companies, for tool and die makers, and for workers across the Canadian industry,” said APMA CEO, Flavio Volpe.
Last week, during Carney’s visit to Washington, Trump said there’s a “conflict” between Canada and the U.S. for auto production jobs.
“The problem we have is that they want a car company, and I want a car company,” Trump said during a White House press conference with Carney. “We don’t like to compete because we sort of hurt each other when we compete, and so we have a natural conflict. It’s a natural business conflict.”
A day later, Lutnick was even blunter in a video address to a Canada-U.S. trade conference, saying Canada must settle for coming “second” to the U.S. when it comes to the auto sector.
According to five sources who were in the room for the discussion, which was held under the “Chatham House Rule” that bars reporters and media coverage, Lutnick said Canada should acknowledge and understand that “America is first, and Canada can be second,” Lutnick said.
But Ottawa should leverage Canada’s geographical proximity to the U.S., he said.
“Car assembly is going to be in America, and there is nothing Canada can do about it. The question is, what is Canada going to do instead?” one source quoted Lutnick as saying.
With files from Tonda MacCharles, Robert Benzie and Star wire services
