Stellantis’ talks of building Chinese EVs in Brampton ‘unacceptable’: Ontario Premier
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says “it is unacceptable” that Stellantis is reportedly in talks with a Chinese automobile manufacturer about the possibility of manufacturing Chinese electric vehicles at its defunct Brampton Assembly plant in Canada.
a report of Bloomberg News says the alleged talks are with Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Hangzhou, China.
According to reutersIn 2023, Stellantis bought a 21 percent stake in Leapmotor for $1.6 billion. The two companies also created Leapmotor International, a joint venture in which Stellantis holds a 51 percent stake.
Lana Payne, president of Unifor, the union representing thousands of laid-off Stellantis workers, confirmed Thursday that Stellantis is exploring several options for the Brampton assembly plant, including production with Leapmotor.
In an interview with CBC News in Dallas, Texas, Ford said such a deal would leave Ontario autoworkers vulnerable.
“This is unacceptable. This goes against everything the federal government told auto workers here in Ontario,” Ford said.
“We can’t have cheap Chinese parts and kits to assemble,” he said. “We’re dead set against it.”
According to Bloomberg report, the talks are preliminary.
Production at the Brampton plant, which had about 3,000 employees, ended in late December 2023 and retooling began in January 2024 in preparation for production of the Jeep Compass.
After US President Donald Trump began imposing tariffs early last year, the company said “Temporary stoppage of work” In the plant. In October 2025, Stellantis said it was moving production of Jeep models out of Ontario. A plant in Illinois.
Stellantis has “nothing to announce” at this time, company spokeswoman Luann Gosselin said in an emailed statement.
He said the company is looking to invest in a future program at the Brampton plant that is sustainable and will have a long-term commitment to supporting workers and suppliers.
“Stellantis is focused on building a strong presence in Canada,” Gosselin said. “We are having active discussions with government officials and key stakeholders to ensure that the conditions for success are in place to support continued investment in Canada.”
‘Knock-down kit plants’ may displace workers: Union
Payne said Unifor expects the carmaker to “live up to its commitment” to create and support jobs at the Brampton plant.
He said there are “serious concerns” regarding potential partnerships with Chinese auto makers to use imported parts for kit assembly overseas.
“These knock-down kit plants will employ a small fraction of the workers while displacing thousands of direct assembly and auto parts jobs,” Payne said.
He called on the Canadian government to create an auto policy that would support companies building and manufacturing within the country.
The funding agreement between the federal government and Stellantis has been the subject of considerable scrutiny since the automaker announced it was moving Jeep Compass assembly from Brampton, Ontario, to the US CBC Windsor, which obtained a copy through an access to information request. Emma Loop reports.
Ford said it would only be acceptable if Chinese companies came to the province to manufacture cars in Ontario, open a plant and buy Ontario-made auto parts and have them assembled by Ontario autoworkers.
“We want to make sure that Stellantis understands that they need to build Ontario-made cars with Ontario workers, with Ontario parts.”
Ford said he is in Texas in an effort to expand business provincially. He’s there with Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli.
Canada signs $529M deal with Stellantis through 2022
last month, CBC News obtained A copy of a $529 million deal struck between the Canadian government and Stellantis in 2022, which prevented the carmaker from closing the Brampton plant before 2035.
However, some exceptions are built into the contract, including circumstances beyond the automaker’s “reasonable control” that make the facility “commercially unviable.”
Industry Minister Melanie Joly told CBC News on Wednesday that a dispute resolution process was launched in November last year after the federal government found it “unacceptable” that Stellantis had moved Jeep Compass production to Belvidere, Illinois.
That confidential process is still ongoing, he said, and the government is “actively engaging” with Stellantis, Unifor and Ontario to “secure production, protect jobs and ensure long-term investment.”
“Any new auto investments will prioritize the Canadian supply chain, including Canadian workers and parts suppliers,” Joly said.
In December, Jolie said Government will serve Stellantis With notices of default under funding contracts related to projects in both Windsor and Brampton, Ontario.
The global carmaker insisted at the time that it had not closed the Brampton plant, and that it was working with the government and other partners “to find a viable solution” for the facility.
CBC News contacted the federal industry ministry and Zhejiang LeapMotor Technology for comment Thursday.
federal government made a deal earlier this year Allowing up to 49,000 Chinese EVs to be brought to market at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent – the measure replaced a 100 per cent tariff that was introduced by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2024.
