Stelco's U.S. owner says it will fight Ottawa in court over the Hamilton layoffs as a federal deadline runs out
The chief executive of Cleveland-Cliffs, which owns Stelco, said on Sunday he is prepared to fight Canada in court over layoffs at the Hamilton plant, CBC and Radio-Canada reported. Stelco is idling its Hamilton operations indefinitely and concentrating production at Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke. The wind-down began on October 9 and affects up to 500 workers; the union expects about 350 layoffs. Cleveland-Cliffs bought Stelco in 2024 under the Investment Canada Act and promised to keep all unionized jobs. On October 5 Industry Minister Mélanie Joly gave it five business days to present a plan or face a court application that could seek compliance, a forced sale or penalties. We saw no company reply and no filing.
The case tests whether promises made to win approval for a foreign takeover can be enforced when a trade war changes the economics. It also puts a number on what tariffs cost a steel town.
If you live in Hamilton or work in steel supply chains, watch for the court step and for any change to the 500 figure. For everyone else it shows how tariff disputes between Ottawa and Washington reach local employers.
Takeover commitments are a condition of approval; if a company breaks them, a court should enforce them, as Ottawa did against U.S. Steel in 2009.
The company says tariffs have closed the U.S. market its Hamilton output depended on, and that it cannot keep a plant running without customers.
The deadline will pass without a clear answer if neither side blinks. The signals are a filing at the Superior Court, a revised company plan, or federal talks about a sale. Until one arrives, treat 500 as the ceiling and 350 as the union's estimate.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 8 · Morning · MON., OCT. 12, 2026