‘Did you do your job?’: Poilievre says Liberal government should have protected Stelco workers

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling in to question whether the Liberal government did enough to secure job protections for steel workers at Stelco, after it approved its sale to American-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in 2024.

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“It was up to the Liberal government to negotiate job protections when it approved the takeover of Stelco a few years back,” said Poilievre, during a press conference in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday.

“So, the question really goes to the Liberals: Did you do your job and protect the steelworkers when the foreign takeover happened?” asked Poilievre.

Poilievre’s comments come after Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Prime Minister Mark Carney have threatened legal action against Stelco’s Ohio-based parent company Cleveland Cliffs Inc., for laying off 500 workers at its plants in Hamilton and Lake Erie.

Stelco was acquired by Cleveland Cliffs in 2024, with the sale approved by Joly’s predecessor François-Philippe Champagne under the Investment Canada Act (ICA).

The approval was contingent on several binding commitments, including maintaining the same number of unionized employees and most non-unionized employees for a period of five years.

Stelco has cited the ongoing U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel, which remain at 50 per cent, as one of the main reasons for the cutbacks.

Earlier this month, Carney called the layoffs a “betrayal” to workers and said there was still federal money on the table for Stelco to retain its employees.

On Oct. 5, Joly sent a letter to Stelco president Paul Simon, in which she listed the remedies available to the government should the investor fail to comply under the ICA.

Those remedies include “an application to the superior court for orders that may include directing compliance, divestiture, or monetary penalties.”

On Sunday, in an interview with CBC News’ Rosemary Barton Live, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves disputed the government’s claims.

“There is no provision in the contract that I have to keep employment at a certain level every single day of the five years,” he said. “If that was an imposition of the Canadian government, I would not have accepted.”

Goncalves has called the layoffs “temporary” until Canada and the U.S. have reached a trade agreement. Goncalves is a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Section 232 tariffs and said he’s prepared to fight the Canadian government in court.

Joly has received a response to her letter from Stelco. On Saturday, she said a legal team is reviewing it and “all options are on the table.”

On Tuesday, NDP Leader Avi Lewis called on the federal government to nationalize Stelco.

“It’s a positive sign that the federal government is preparing to take legal action, but a court process will take years to resolve,” said Lewis, in a statement.

“If we’re serious about saving these jobs and the Canadian steel industry, we need immediate action,” he added. “That action must include nationalizing the plant.”

Poilevre said Conservatives are calling on the federal government to pursue legal action, but more importantly get back to the negotiating table with the U.S., to secure a tariff-free trade deal.

National Post

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