Canada Hands Stellantis 30 Days on Brampton Sale: Fix It or Face Court

Canada wants Stellantis in court unless it fixes things fast. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday the government has served the automaker with a formal notice of default over its plan to sell the idled Brampton, Ontario assembly plant, giving the company 30 days to respond. Her words to reporters in Toronto were blunt: the notice is out, the clock is running, and if Stellantis doesn't come back with answers, Ottawa will sue.

At the center of the fight is the deal Stellantis announced Monday to sell Brampton to Roshel, an armored vehicle manufacturer, for a price it hasn't disclosed. Joly says that move broke contractual commitments the carmaker made to the Canadian government and to the plant's workers, and left Stellantis on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the situation unacceptable and a betrayal of the workers there.

The plant was supposed to build the Jeep Compass. Stellantis scrapped that plan and pushed future production to a factory in Illinois, citing U.S. auto tariffs and other market pressure — a shift that lands in the middle of the bitter trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa, with President Donald Trump repeatedly pressing automakers to move vehicle production south of the border.

Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley said Thursday the company would return $24 million in federal subsidies, according to CBC News, a figure well short of what the government says it is owed. He acknowledged the disappointment and uncertainty about the facility's future, saying the sale to a Canadian manufacturer offers a path back to productive industrial use. Stellantis has also said it recognizes its obligations to employees and is ready to work with Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union, on a settlement for union-represented workers. A company spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comment when CNBC reached out Friday morning.

Investors have already voted. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares are down more than 60% so far in 2026.