Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s office is disputing media reports that characterized the federal government as having played an active role in negotiations that led to automaker Stellantis selling its Brampton, Ont. assembly plant to defence contractor Roshel. Mathis Denis, a spokesperson for Joly’s office, said Wednesday evening that reporting that Joly “was involved in the deal is false.” “The minister had no part in negotiating with Stellantis or Roshel on the deal,” he said. “The minister was in a conflict resolution (role) between Stellantis and the union. That’s it. The minister didn’t meet Roshel.” Denis said the minister took part in discussions between Stellantis and Unifor, which represents more than 9,000 Canadian workers for the automaker, to find a way forward after the company decided to move production previously earmarked for the Brampton plant to the United States. He said the move, announced in October 2025, was in violation of Stellantis’ commitments to Ottawa tied to a federal commitment of up to $529 million through the Strategic Response Fund (SRF). “Reporting that the minister was involved in the (Roshel) deal is false because the minister, the department and the team would have never approved or agreed to a deal that, first, did not honour their commitment under the SRF, but, second, lacked the union’s approval,” said Denis. “We have already made it clear to Stellantis that if they were going to move forward with a sale or a deal ... that did not honour their commitment under the SRF, we would use the tools at our disposal to respond.” On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that selling the Brampton plant “violates the obligations that Stellantis has under several agreements,” as he called the move “unacceptable.” “But to be more fundamental, it’s a betrayal of the workers as it is a betrayal of the obligations to Canada and by extension to all Canadians,” Carney said. Later that day, CTV News reported — citing three unnamed sources with “direct knowledge” of the talks between Stellantis and Roshel — that Ottawa “was actively and intensively part” of those discussions. The news outlet reported that the federal government engaged “directly” with both companies, knew the terms surrounding the sale and “did not stand in the way of it.” CBC News also reported the federal government was aware for months about the possibility that Stellantis would sell the facility to Roshel and that it was “engaged regularly” since August. Stellantis announced the sale of the facility and associated equipment to Roshel for an undisclosed amount late Monday afternoon. The companies say they expect the transaction to close by the end of this year, however it is subject to certain conditions, including government and regulatory requirements. Roshel CEO Roman Shimonov has said his Brampton-based company is willing to hire back some of the 2,000 Stellantis employees who were laid off from the plant when it halted operations in 2023. The facility had been slated to be retooled for Jeep production, a process that began early in 2024, before Stellantis paused the plan in early 2025. It later announced it was moving production of the Jeep Compass to Illinois, leaving the plant idled indefinitely. Joly is set to convene a meeting Thursday in Toronto with the leadership of Stellantis and Unifor, along with Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli. “This is not the outcome we wanted and we have no choice but to find Stellantis in default of their obligation,” said Denis. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2026. Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press With files from Alessia Passafiume in Ottawa
