Stelco layoffs in Hamilton signal risk to Canada's steel industry, union says
The company plans to idle part of its Hamilton plant and lay off hundreds of workers, as the sector faces U.S. tariffs.
HAMILTON — Stelco's plan to lay off hundreds of workers at its Hamilton steel plant is being seen as a critical warning to Canada's troubled steel industry.
"If we don't make changes, Canada's steel industry is at risk," said United Steelworkers national director Marty Warren.
The company's move to idle part of its Hamilton factory is the latest blow to a sector being squeezed by U.S. tariffs.
READ MORE: Stelco to idle part of Hamilton plant, affecting up to 500 employees
READ MORE: Canadian economy stalled in July before U.S. tariffs took effect
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday his government plans to ensure that Cleveland-Cliffs, the Ohio-based owner of Stelco, meets its obligations.
The company established a legally binding five-year agreement with the Canadian federal government in late 2024 under the Investment Canada Act to approve its acquisition of Hamilton-based Stelco.
"The company made representations and has legal obligations for employment. We intend to use all the powers that we have and pursue them to the full extent of the law," Carney told reporters in Vancouver.
In March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump hit Canada's steel and aluminum sector with 25 per cent tariffs, then in June of that year, his administration increased tariffs to 50 per cent.
Stelco CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously publicly supported Trump's tariff policy.
Back in 2024, shortly after Cleveland-Cliffs purchased Stelco, Goncalves spoke glowingly about the Canadian market, telling BNN Bloomberg at the time that the company was in good shape for the future.
U.S. Census data shows that as recently as 2024, Canada was shipping and exporting more iron and steel into America than any other country, sending roughly US$13 billion worth of product stateside.
This week, the Trump administration announced plans for a US$15-billion mega steel mill to be built in Iowa.
"The largest in America by far," Trump boasted from his desk in the Oval Office.
Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker sees the announcement as another move to crush Canada's industry.
"The hope of the American administration is to destroy the Canadian steel market," said Shoemaker, whose city's largest employer, Algoma Steel, announced in December it would let go of roughly 1,000 employees.
"If the Canadian government wants a Canadian steel industry to exist beyond the end of this Trump presidency, they need to ensure the stability of Stelco, Dofasco and Algoma for the future. Otherwise, the mills will be gone and we will be forced to buy all steel from outside of Canada," Shoemaker said.
Industry watchers told CTV News the priority right now is to stabilize the existing mills across Canada and fast-track nation-building projects that are committed to using Canadian steel.
Any future federal infrastructure plans will offer little help to the roughly 350 workers expected to be laid off in Hamilton later next week.
With files from BNN Bloomberg