Canada Threatens Stellantis With Legal Action Over Jeep Move to U.S. — Update

By Vipal Monga and Paul Vieira

Canada's Industry Minister Melanie Joly threatened Stellantis with legal action over the car company's plan to make midsize Jeeps in Illinois instead of Ontario.

Joly on Wednesday sent a letter to Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa in which she said the car maker is in danger of defaulting on agreements it made with the Canadian government to keep intact its factory footprint in Ontario, in exchange for billions of dollars in subsidies.

"Should Stellantis choose not to respect its obligations, we will act in the interests of all Canadians and hold the company to full account, and exercise all options, including legal," Joly said in a letter seen by The Wall Street Journal.

The letter follows remarks from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who also warned Stellantis of its obligations, adding that the car maker's decision was the result of President Trump's tariff policy. Carney warned investments in the auto sector were at risk until some clarity emerged on the future of the current U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade treaty, known as USMCA.

A Stellantis spokeswoman said the company received Joly's letter. She said that Canada "is very important to us," noting Stellantis is adding a third shift at its Windsor, Ontario factory, due to increased demand for its Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger Scat Pack. Stellantis would share with federal officials its plans for Canada to offset the shift of midsize Jeeps to Illinois.

Bloomberg News earlier reported on the letter's contents.

Stellantis announced on Tuesday that it would move Jeep production from a plant in Brampton, just outside of Toronto, to an assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill. Stellantis said it was making the move as part of a plan to invest $13 billion in the U.S. and add 5,000 jobs in the Midwest to protect the company from President Trump's tariffs.

The Canadian government, along with the province of Ontario, provided over 1 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of US$710 million, to Stellantis in 2022 to modernize its plants in Brampton and Windsor, Ontario, to accommodate production of electric vehicles. Over a year later, Canada sweetened its offer with up to C$15 billion in incentives to Stellantis to upgrade the Windsor facility. Stellantis promised to maintain its production mandate in Brampton as part of the deal.

In 2023, Stellantis and Unifor, the union representing the car maker's workers, ended a short strike by agreeing to a new labor agreement that included pledges from Stellantis to increase investments in Canada.

The move could cost 3,000 jobs in the Ontario plant, and threatens as many as 10,000 more for related auto parts suppliers, said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, a Canadian industry group.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars in the Canadian supply base have been kicked aside," said Volpe. He said Canada must push back hard against Stellantis's move or take the risk that other automakers in Canada will make similar moves.

Unifor, the union that represents the workers at the Brampton assembly plant, called on the Canadian government to take action. "Stellantis must be compelled to live up to their commitments to Canadian workers," said Lana Payne, the union's president, in a post on X.

Write to Vipal Monga at vipal.monga@wsj.com and Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2025 17:06 ET (21:06 GMT)