Canadian Stellantis workers to hold strike vote as auto talks stall, union says

Unifor says it will hold a strike authorization vote for its Stellantis NV STLA-N workers as contract talks are stalled over the automaker’s plans to sell its idled car plant in Brampton, Ont.

The union, which represents 9,000 Stellantis workers in Canada, walked away from collective bargaining on Sept. 11 after the automaker confirmed it has a preliminary agreement to sell the Brampton plant to Roshel, a defence contractor that makes armoured vehicles.

The plant northwest of Toronto closed for retooling in 2023, and Stellantis moved planned production of the Jeep Compass to Belvidere, Ill., last year after the United States imposed tariffs on Canadian-made cars.

The strike vote will take place Oct. 17 to 18, and the results will be made public on Oct. 19, Unifor said on Tuesday. A majority vote for a strike would give the union executive the option to use as leverage work stoppages at Stellantis’s minivan plant in Windsor and parts plant in Toronto.

“Strike action remains a last resort, but the ability to strike is an important part of collective bargaining and can help create the conditions for an agreement,” Unifor said in a statement.

The union said the issues unresolved at the table include job security for all Stellantis workers and the future of all the automaker’s Canadian operations.

Stellantis said on Sept. 11 it has a memorandum of understanding to sell the plant to Brampton-based Roshel.

“Stellantis believes that Roshel represents a strong path to restoring sustainable operations at Brampton assembly, preserving the site’s strategic role in Canada’s advanced manufacturing sector and helping to avoid a prolonged period of inactivity,” Stellantis said at the time.

The automaker cited “changing market and trade conditions” for the sale. Since 2025, the U.S. has imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian-made cars.

The Stellantis plant, which employed more than 3,000 people when it closed for retooling in 2023, still has about 2,200 people on layoff.

The federal government has said any sale would put Stellantis in violation of the taxpayer funding agreement of the plant.