Stelco Union Backs Nationalization as Hamilton Layoffs Bite

Updated 15:45 UTC: Ottawa gives Stelco owner 15 days to reverse layoffs

Industry Minister Melanie Joly escalated the Stelco fight on Thursday, October 22, 2026. In a demand letter sent to Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs on Thursday morning, Joly said the planned layoffs violate the company's commitments under the Investment Canada Act and gave it 15 days to reverse them, Reuters and CBC News reported.

If Cleveland-Cliffs does not comply, Joly may apply to a superior court under section 40 of the act. She would ask the court for monetary penalties and could seek an order directing the company to divest from Stelco, with a fine of C$10,000 for each day in breach, the letter says. Toronto Star reporting adds that the letter was addressed to Stelco president Paul Simon and says Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco Goncalves lobbied the US government to impose heavy tariffs on Canadian steel and diverted production from Stelco to US operations before the tariffs were imposed.

"I remain prepared to sit down with Cleveland-Cliffs to find a solution. But our bottom line is clear: protect Canadian jobs, defend our steel industry and ensure that commitments made to Canada are respected," Joly said in a statement. She added: "Let me be clear: no act of God or change in market conditions can relieve Cleveland-Cliffs of the commitments it made to Canada. Those commitments are not optional."

Cleveland-Cliffs said late last month that it plans to lay off as many as 500 workers as it idles certain steel production at Stelco, under purchase commitments to employ at least the same number of unionized employees and the vast majority of non-unionized employees as there were in 2024 through 2029. The company says the layoffs are needed to ensure the survival of the company as US tariffs on steel squeeze its sales, and it denies the charge that the plan violates its commitments.

HAMILTON, Ontario. The push to nationalize Stelco grew louder this week, and on Thursday, October 16, 2026 it picked up the voice of the Hamilton plant's own union. Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, told CBC Hamilton that he would support a federal government takeover of the steelmaker, which is laying off hundreds of workers.

Wells said his local has backed the idea since 2014, when Stelco was put in creditor protection and, in his words, nobody really listened. A takeover would be complicated and take a long time, he said, but workers need to get back to work now, and in a perfect world the city could have both.

Layoffs at Hamilton Works

Stelco is owned by Cleveland-Cliffs of the United States, which bought the company in 2024. Ottawa approved that takeover under the Investment Canada Act with five year commitments to keep staffing levels: at least the same number of unionized workers as when the deal was announced, and the vast majority of non unionized staff.

The layoffs now under way run against those promises, the federal government says. The wind down of cold rolled and coated operations at Hamilton Works began around October 9, 2026, according to a company memo. Wells estimates about 350 union members will lose work at Hamilton. Reports put the total at 300 to 350 jobs at Hamilton Works and up to 500 across the Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities. Some workers will be offered jobs at Lake Erie Works, but not nearly enough to fill the gap.

Industry Minister Melanie Joly says the cuts breach the Investment Canada Act commitments and has vowed court action. Her office said Ottawa offered bridge financing, loans and access to new Canadian markets, and called the company's decision to reject those offers and press on with layoffs extremely disappointing.

Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco Goncalves calls the layoffs temporary and says the contract does not require stable daily employment. He blames lost access to the United States market during the tariff fight between Ottawa and Washington.

The nationalization argument

Federal NDP leader Avi Lewis and Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to nationalize Stelco after the company rejected demands to halt the layoffs, in statements reported on October 13 and October 14, 2026. Lewis argues a court fight could take years, while public ownership would act now. He points to the United Kingdom, which took British Steel into public ownership in July, and the CBC noted the UK has moved two steel companies into public ownership this year.

A legal expert at Queen's University, Nicolas Lamp, has also said Ottawa should consider nationalization, arguing it buys time and transparency, and questioning whether a United States owner whose other operations gain from United States tariffs can act in the best interest of Canadian workers.

What happens next

No federal decision has been announced. The live tracks are three: the court action Joly has promised over the 2024 commitments, the transfer offers that will decide how many Hamilton workers land at Lake Erie Works, and the political pressure from the NDP and the union. For Hamilton, the clock is simple. Christmas is not far away, Wells said, and workers still do not know how long the layoffs will last.