Ontario NDP urges Ford, Carney to buy Stelco as firm eyes layoffs

The Ontario NDP is calling on Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney to use taxpayer funds to buy Stelco, the Hamilton steel giant whose owner has sided with U.S. President Donald Trump in his trade war with Canada.

Stelco, which is owned by U.S.-based Cleveland Cliffs, begins laying off hundreds of workers at its manufacturing plant in Ontario after claiming that the facility was producing more steel than the company could sell on Canadian soil.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles told reporters Tuesday that public ownership of Stelco is emerging as the only option to save roughly 350 jobs.

“[Provincial ownership] will mean keeping good jobs, reliable supply of Canadian steel, and it’s a strategic advantage for nation-building projects and future investments,” she said.

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The party’s proposal is being echoed by Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis, who said “it’s time to nationalize Stelco.”

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“Stelco’s American owners have broken their commitments. Their CEO supports Trump’s tariffs, which are designed to deindustrialize our economy and destroy our manufacturing base,” he said. Lewis said with more than 500 workers in Hamilton facing layoffs, nationalizing the firm is the path to saving those jobs.

Stiles said it could be an opportunity to use provincial power to fast-track new infrastructure projects that commit to using Canadian steel.

“This is a win-win-win, and it’s time for the premier to put his money where his mouth is,” she said.

Stiles was referring to comments Premier Ford made in Aug. 2025, when Cleveland Cliffs owner Lorenco Goncalves called Trump’s tariffs “bold action” that would “strengthen the American steel industry.”

Ford, at the time, said Golcalves “doesn’t give two hoots about his workers at Stelco and mused about potentially using taxpayer funds to take over the company.”

“Maybe they should find a new owner for Stelco, maybe we should just buy em,” Ford said.

Ford government insiders insist the comment was made in passing but acknowledged that the future of the steel industry is being challenged by the current US tariffs.

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While a senior source said the government would take a “wait and see” approach, they suggested the country is facing the larger question of whether it wants to maintain a domestic steel industry.

The source said the federal government would have to take the lead on the issue, but would need to assess its options after the U.S. mid-term elections that could realign the political base of power in Washington D.C.

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While the NDP wouldn’t offer a potential purchase price, Stilles acknowledged the NDP’s proposal is “ambitious” and would require federal backing.

Members of United Steelworkers, a private-sector union that represents more than 225,000 workers in Canada, have been also vocal that public ownership is the best option, Stiles said.

In 2024, Canada gave U.S.-based Cleveland-Cliffs the go-ahead to purchase Stelco under the Investment Canada Act (ICA), which regulates foreign takeovers.

The obligations laid out in that agreement, the federal government said, could result in legal action against the American company.

In the letter to Stelco, Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada’s approval of the deal was contingent on the new owner maintaining the number of union jobs and the majority of non-union positions.

Stelco pushed back on Joly’s accusations in its letter and said it “remains in compliance” with the undertakings in the agreement from 2024.