Stelco's U.S. owner to face 'fullest extent of the law' over layoffs: PM Carney
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed to use all legal powers against Cleveland-Cliffs following the company's decision to lay off hundreds of workers at its Stelco plant in Hamilton. The company blames the layoffs on the ongoing trade war and tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration.
Why it matters
This conflict underscores the severe economic impact of trade disputes on domestic manufacturing and labor relations.
His remarks follow comments from Prime Minister Mark Carney that Ottawa will "use all powers that we have" against Cleveland-Cliffs as it pursues the company to the "fullest extent of the law."
In an interview with CBC News on Wednesday, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves called Stelco’s ability to freely sell steel produced in Hamilton to U.S. buyers an "underlying condition" to terms it agreed to when it purchased Stelco in 2024. Those include maintaining "significant employment levels in Canada" and "significant operations in Hamilton."
"We had [the] USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] in place . . . we had the ability to sell into the United States," Goncalves said. "That was an underlying condition for me to acquire Stelco.
"I would not have acquired the Stelco if I knew that Canada and the United States would become what they became — enemies in trade."
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