Stelco rejects Ottawa's call to halt layoffs, citing a 58% fall in U.S. exports. NDP leaders urge Carney to take it over
Stelco's president responded to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly's demand to halt layoffs at the Hamilton plant by refusing, CBC reported on Tuesday; CTV News and Radio-Canada carried the company's reply. The company said its steel exports to the United States have fallen 58% and cited foreign imports, per BNN Bloomberg and Radio-Canada. Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles told reporters public ownership is emerging as the only option to save roughly 350 jobs, Global News reported. The National Post said federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis called on Ottawa to nationalize the company, and that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the Liberal government should have protected the workers. A BNN Bloomberg headline said the chief executive of Cleveland-Cliffs is prepared to fight Canada in court. We saw no court filing.
Ottawa approved the 2024 takeover with job pledges attached. Whether those pledges can be enforced when a trade war changes the economics is a test for every foreign takeover that Canada reviews.
If you work in Hamilton steel or its suppliers, watch for a court step or a sale discussion. For others, the dispute shows how U.S. tariffs and Canadian retaliation reach a single employer.
The government gave conditions for approval and should enforce them, or buy the plant if the owner walks away.
The company says tariffs and imports closed the market its Hamilton output depended on, and that public ownership would hand taxpayers a business with falling sales.
The 58% figure explains the company's position but is not independently checked. The decisive signal is whether Ottawa files in court or opens sale talks. Calls to nationalize are political opening bids; Ottawa has not said it will do it.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 10 · Morning · WED., OCT. 14, 2026