Canadian business news: The Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale is done. Stellantis has agreed to sell its idled Brampton plant to armoured vehicle maker Roshel, and Prime Minister Mark Carney calls the deal a betrayal of the 2,200 workers still waiting to go back.
The Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale hands the idled Brampton Assembly Plant to Canadian armoured vehicle maker Roshel, with the deal expected to close by the end of 2026. More than 2,000 workers have been on layoff since late 2023, and Roshel says 700 to 1,000 of them could return to work as the plant reopens.
By Maplestime News Desk | Winnipeg, Manitoba | November 11, 2026
Sources: Manufacturing Automation, Global News, Canadian Press | Last updated: November 11, 2026
Key Takeaways
- The Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale was signed late Monday, November 9, as an asset purchase agreement covering the idled Brampton Assembly Plant and equipment, for an undisclosed price.
- The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to government and regulatory approvals.
- More than 2,000 workers, 2,200 to 2,300 Unifor Local 1285 members, have been on layoff since the plant halted operations in late 2023.
- Roshel says 700 to 1,000 laid off Stellantis employees could return to work as the facility reopens, and it plans to lease about one quarter of the site back to Stellantis for automotive work.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney said the sale “violates the obligations that Stellantis has under several agreements” and called it “a betrayal of the workers.”
- Ottawa committed up to $529 million in 2022 to retool the Brampton and Windsor plants, and federal records show more than $220 million was forwarded for the retooling.
What does the Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale mean for workers?
For the workers, the sale is a door opening and a door closing at the same time. Roshel says 700 to 1,000 laid off Stellantis employees could return to work as the facility reopens to build armoured vehicles. That is real work, and real paycheques, after three years on layoff. It is also fewer than half the 2,200 to 2,300 Unifor Local 1285 members who have been waiting since the plant halted operations in late 2023.
Unifor national president Lana Payne called it “an underhanded deal to sell the plant and walk away from its commitments,” saying it cuts Canadian vehicle production capacity by 10 percent. Her point is blunt: the Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale trades car building capacity for armoured vehicle work, and the car building capacity does not come back.
The plant was being retooled for Jeep Compass production before Stellantis paused the plan in early 2025 and moved Compass production to Illinois. That decision is what stranded the Brampton workforce in the first place.
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Roshel Senator armoured vehicle. Photo: Fcinq889, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What did Ottawa promise, and what did it pay?
This is where the sale turns from a business deal into a political fight. Ottawa committed up to $529 million in 2022 to retool Stellantis plants in Brampton and Windsor, and federal records show more than $220 million was forwarded for the retooling. The public money went in on the promise of auto jobs in Canada. The Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale is the bill coming due for that promise.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking Tuesday in Montreal, said the sale “violates the obligations that Stellantis has under several agreements” and called it “a betrayal of the workers” and of obligations to Canada. He added, “We will fully enforce our rights in protection of those workers and protection of Canadian funds.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking outside the plant Tuesday, called for Industry Minister Mélanie Joly to be fired and for the government to sue Stellantis to recover public money. Two parties, one demand: the money, or the jobs it was meant to buy. The Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale is the test of whether those words carry consequences.
Watch the Global National report on the sale here.
What happens next?
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the sale “does not erase Stellantis’ commitment to workers” and will convene a meeting Thursday in Toronto with Stellantis, Unifor, and Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli. That meeting is where the numbers get tested: how many of the 700 to 1,000 jobs are real, when they start, and what happens to the workers Roshel does not take back.
The Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale still needs government and regulatory approvals before it can close by the end of 2026, which gives Ottawa leverage if it chooses to use it. Carney’s language suggests it will. The workers, meanwhile, have heard promises before, and they will be watching what Thursday produces, not what Tuesday promised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is buying the Brampton plant?
Roshel, a Canadian armoured vehicle maker, which signed an asset purchase agreement to buy the idled Brampton Assembly Plant and equipment from Stellantis for an undisclosed price.
How many workers could get their jobs back?
Roshel says 700 to 1,000 laid off Stellantis employees could return to work as the facility reopens, out of 2,200 to 2,300 Unifor Local 1285 members on layoff since late 2023.
When will the Stellantis Brampton Plant Sale close?
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to government and regulatory approvals.
Brampton City Hall. Photo: Sikander, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maplestime will provide updates from Brampton and Ottawa as announcements are made.
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Should Ottawa sue Stellantis to get the public money back, or fight to keep the plant building cars? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Ontario auto worker.
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