Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has threatened to sue Stelco Inc for shutting down its Hamilton finishing operations and laying off around 500 workers.
Stelco owner Cleveland Cliffs is calling Joly’s bluff, citing the government’s own Investment Canada Act guidelines.
OTTAWA — Stelco Inc. says Canadian exports of cold-rolled and coated steel to the United States have plunged 58 per cent compared with pre-trade-war levels, while continued foreign imports put pressure on domestic producers.
In a seven-page letter to Canada’s industry minister obtained by The Canadian Press, Stelco president Paul Simon says Canadian exports of those steel products to the United States fell by 226,000 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the 2024 quarterly average.
At the same time, he says imports accounted for 45 per cent of market share for those products, despite Ottawa’s efforts to protect the industry by restricting steel imports.
Simon says a combination of declining exports to the United States, weaker domestic demand and continued foreign steel imports has shrunk the market for products made at Stelco’s Hamilton Works by more than one million tonnes annually — roughly twice the plant’s historical annual production of cold-rolled and coated steel.
[…] Stelco’s general counsel, says the company is proceeding with plans to idle its Hamilton finishing operations despite Joly’s warning of possible legal action. He says the layoffs do not violate its binding employment commitments as U.S. tariffs and continued foreign steel imports have dramatically changed market conditions. (read more)
🚨 ULTIMATIUM BACKFIRES 🚨
After threatening Stelco's U.S. owner with the full force of the law over 500 potential layoffs, Mélanie Joly just a rude awakening.
Cleveland-Cliffs is calling her bluff, citing the government's own Investment Canada Act guidelines. pic.twitter.com/nPPysmGiIT
— Northern Perspective (@NorthrnPrspectv) October 10, 2026
Stelco layoffs begin as Cliffs says it will fight Ottawa in courthttps://t.co/jEQcNIEExj pic.twitter.com/2EMTA40oKn
— Western Standard (@WesternStandard) October 13, 2026
Canada has entered the FO phase…
.
Consequences are so unfair.
Ain’t they a biatch? 😉
Carney doesn’t care how many Canadians lose their jobs or how much damage is inflicted on the Canadian economy.
Carney is there to take down Donald Trump along with his allies in the EU and Zelensky.
Carney will offer the laid off workers free assisted suicide
Nope. Maple syrup and pancakes for life.
OK, slow assisted suicide. The carbs, the carbs, the horror.
Touche’
Hummmm…..
If Carney offers the laid off Canadian workers free assisted suicide, can the workers put Carney on the Red Chinese non-voluntary organ donor list?
Isn’t turnabout fair play; even in Canada..?
Many many people have tried to take Pres. Trump down and failed. Why doe he think he can do it??
Just another brainwashed globalist. Thinking has nothing to do with it for them.
Carney is one of the leaders of the brainwashed.
He has implemented harmful idiocy after harmful idiocy and is protecting those harmful policies from Donald Trump.
Tha fact that is protective acts are also harmful seals it. The harm is the goal.
There are trillions at stake. Trump is looking to cut the bankers and financiers out of the commodity markets with direct country-to-country commodity sales at a set price, not the “market price”. This eliminates a lot of the fees and bites out of the sales of these commodities that have flowed into these financial interests.
Because he lives in a bubble not attached to reality.
Canada is there to have their assets raided.
The Canadian people are irrelevant in the minds of those robbing them. Since when does a robber concern themselves with their victims needs?
Such a disgusting turn of events for the people of Canada. I hope they are finally awakening to the fact that their government is not their friend.
FILTHY LIBERALS
There is no hope for us, we are a GODLESS SPIRITLESS group of People, NOT a Country.
45% of Canada WASN”T Born here, or their Parents weren’t born here.
WE ARE DONE.
They voted for it. Unfortunately, the same thing could happen here in America in November.
It’s all about Carnage’s pocket book!
95% of Carnage’s investments are in the USA and his family lives here. Only 2-3% is invested in Canada. He is quit aware of what he is doing to Canada and will flee when the s*** nears the fan.
Yeah…..well……how’s THAT working out for him!
Won’t be long……..Carney will be in the eye of the Canadian people…..to be plucked out………if they ever wake up.
Carney is there to manage the decline and further ruin of Canada.
He wont be hurt. Maybe eventually hole up in some moated castle in Montreal Area.
Meanwhile up there in Ottawa he can help launch the CIA/MI6/MkUltra crowd’s next assassination attempt.
Although I think Trump is not going to be the target.
Watch out Rubio/Tulsi Team !
I suspect taking down Trump is a ruse/dodge. Carney’s World Economic Forum handlers wanted Russian natural resources to sell off at a handsome profit for years to come. Since Russia is proving to be a greater problem to “harvest” than anticipated, might Canada be a worthy substitute until such a time it runs out of resources or Russian resources become available? Just a thought…
Typical political scumbags
Find Out
also Fun Over 😂
The Canadian Liberals actually Communists put Green Policies over Canadian Families. Our Democrats and their Liberals hate the people of their countries.
Somehow Carney’s whole elbows up BS isn’t going to put food on the tables of 500 Canadian families.
It’s A LOT more than 500 families. Almost every social program is at record capacity. Food banks. Medical clinics. You name it. It’s tapped. The number of people who have given up looking for work is insane and the Liberals lie about all of it.
He’s referring to the 500 laid off workers, not including the downstream effects.
This is the unfortunate reality. The catchphrase, “elbows up,” does nothing for the workers being laid off in favor of Chinese steel imports. I can think of accurate phrase that is perhaps inappropriate for print.
buns up!
What does ‘elbows up’ mean?
It is a hockey reference and implies a readiness and willingness to engage in rough and/or dirty play.
It’s a hocky fighting phrase I believe.
In the world of Sprint car racing it means driving like your arse was on fire and your hair was catching.
Is it half a phrase? The missing part says where to stick them up?
That’s just the standard laid off workers, not including all the downstream business employees that these workers spent there money on.
Is this the beginning of the great awakening for the people of Canada?
No
lol. 18 likes for a deadpan response!
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Short answers rule.
Yup.
Canada died when the truckers were towed and debanked.
Its soul did for sure-that was a big, maybe defining moment. I don’t know if you can recover from that.
Canada died when Paster Arthur Pawlowski was stopped and arrested on the highway, then picked up by the arms and legs to be thrown in a cop car . . . because he denied covid mandate .
Yes, but the first thing they will wake up to is the fact that they don’t have a job.
Or a house.
In the winter.
Carney’s banking buddies will tell occupants of the late, foreclosed homes that they can stay in their home as renters instead of owners, qualify for public housing assistance, thereby happy whilst owning nothing.
Awakening? Canadians are too docile to ever wake up. We’re the Ground-Zero for the WEF and by Carney’s own words, the prime mover for the Great Reset and the New World Order
They should have awakened when the truckers strike took place and the vail came down and the Parliament confiscated bank accounts and jailed people.
More like the Great Leap Forward.
“One who pretends to be asleep cannot be awakened.” — unattributed
Atlas shrugged.
I
shrugged also.
Move the steel mill to the US?
The stock is trading at $12 and change. It might be time to buy.
Its a steel.
Like the spouse who abuses the other spouse, that spouse leaves.
The abuser sues.
Pure commie move.
Forced control never works on humans who have been given free will from God.
Man is inherently a free spirit, seeking control over his own destiny. It is only the institutional conditioning by the globalists over the last few centuries that has fostered the mindset of dependence.
There is no record in recent history of a government demonizing and suing a company into profitability, but given the tone deaf antics of Canada’s authorities of late, they’ll likely have to be reminded of this the hard way.
Rhetoric is one thing, as is political posturing and picking fights with your runaway largest trading partner, while at the same time whoring your country to a predatory, export-sustained Chinese mercantile system. But reality on the ground, after the smoke clears, is jobs lost. And all the threats and hand wringing in the world will not change that.
The next step is up to the Canadian people.
J
What will happen in the near term will be roughly 2000 Canadian jobs lost, not just 500. For every high paying industrial job are generally 3 service sector jobs which support them. Restaurants, janitorial, retail etc etc will all be downsizing.
500 people who suddenly, badly, need the Government to take care of them? Win!
Baby Bells were very profitable after the Government sued Bell and broke them up.
But Bell was a government dominated and restricted monopoly. So breaking them up freed them.
Everything Leftist’s touch turns immediately to CRAP, Right Carney?
The left are destroyers / wrecking balls, they do not build or create. All they have accomplished is taking a good things and ruining them, but also taking a bad thing (the homeless) and making it worse. (The left agenda is destroy Trump)
The mindset of a conservative is to build, improve, create. I would expect this to be common sense but not at this moment in time for some.
The question comes down to something so simple. Do you want your neighborhood destroyed, employment opportunities to disappear and any form of a future for our kids, and grandkids to vanish also?
Common sense says make things better for tomorrow than it was today and our future could be very prosperous for all.
So so true. Wherever the left is in power, they destroy the economy and peoples lives
US –under Obama
US–under Biden
UK–under Herr Starmer, Andy Burn-em-down
Germany -under EUdirectives
France–Macron
Australia–Halalbanese, Gillard, Rudd
NZ–Jacinda Ardern
The left are truly evil
“-under Obama
-under Biden
-under Herr Starmer , Andy Burn -em -down
-under EU directives
-Macron
-Halalbanese, Gillard, Rudd
-Jacinda Ardern”
“The burnt fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the fire”
I suppose the next logical step is for Carney to Nationalize the means of production, so that he can create make-work jobs for Canadians. But, after 178 years, the Marxists still haven’t figured out how to make a planned economy work. Even the Red Chinese had to incorporate aspects of free trade into their economy, or that regime would have toppled years ago.
Perhaps Carney will import some economic advisors from China to help him out of this quagmire that he caused for himself (and the poor bastards who are his subjects). Meanwhile, if Carney is to be the new Messiah of the EU, then they need to quickly plan a rescue operation, so that Carney can be promoted even higher than his current level of incompetence, before his reputation becomes irreparable.
Robbers rarely concern themselves with the needs of their victims.
How can the Canadian govt insist a private company stay open when they are losing business and therefore money to stay open? Doesn’t sound like a free nation to me.
I am reminded of a company in Toledo back in the 1980’s.
It had pled with its labor force to accept only a small increase in wages, as it was near bankruptcy.
The union claimed that the company was hiding profits.
The company opened its accounting books and all financial records.
The union claimed that the company was still hiding money and went out on strike.
The company went bankrupt and closed down.
The next part I am not making up!
For two years, the union paid people to picket the closed, chained, defunct, shuttered, non-operating factory! “UNFAIR! REAL WAGES FOR REAL WORK!”
Completely surreal!
It was as if they were demonstrating for the prosecution of a criminal…at his grave in the cemetery!
I seem to recall several companies at that time, but this one was an auto parts supplier, wasn’t it?
You may be correct; my dad’s friend worked there. I was 8 or so. I remember my dad saying his friend’s union was going to regret their antics.
I remember a story where workers there were paid to sit in a room and do nothing because the orders weren’t coming in.
That sounds like a mini “mass formation psychosis.” Unreal is right.
Happened other places too. One place I know the union won a 5 cent raise only to have the plant closed in less than a month. There was unquestionably “greed” on the company part (who runs a company to lose money?), but it ultimately didn’t matter.
I recall a very similar situation here in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the early 1990’s.
A long-time restaurant operating in leased premises employed union members under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with several years remaining. There were only 3 union shops in that entire county. Dishwashers and busboys were making $15/hr. The owner was losing money every year.
The owner consulted restaurant financial experts. The experts advised that there was not way to stop losing money, unless the CBA was modified, or rejected in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization under Section 365 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The owner asked the union to re-negotiate the CBA. The union refused.
The owner filed Chapter 11, filed a motion to reject the CBA, and prevailed.
The union sent protestors out to the restaurant, and made life miserable for the owner.
Instead of proceeding with the plan, the owner closed the restaurant, laid off all the employees, and voluntarily converted the case to Chapter 7 (liquidation bankruptcy).
After several months, the Chapter 7 trustee sold the restaurant fixtures and the interest in the lease for $100k.
The new owner remodeled the restaurant, and opened up several months later as a non-union shop.
What a bunch of maroons.
The union leadership directing the good fight from their second homes in Florida
Which was this particular company? That was a messed up time for sure.
I seem to vaguely remember this. It was the first time I was educated about the Wobblies. The union blamed it on President Reagan of course.
As mentioned already it was an automotive parts company.
Kinda like impeaching a president after his term was over.
It isn’t a free nation. It’s only masquerading as one. The evidence speaks more loudly than the rhetoric.
Carney is pissed Stelco didn’t take any “loan” money from Canada.
Why in the world would Stelco want to have that steel beam hanging over their head. Smart move by Stelco.
It’s related to this comment:
He says the layoffs do not violate its binding employment commitments
Click the “read more” link at the end to see the full article.
Ottawa’s approval of the takeover was contingent on Cleveland-Cliffs maintaining at least the same number of unionized workers and the vast majority of non-unionized employees for five years.
The United States Government is still open, and they’ve put our nation over $40 Trillion in debt.
And no, they don’t want a free nation. Just the illusion of one.
I bet Canada will broker a take over of that plant(s) and give them to the ChiComms.
No bet: that is 100% guaranteed!
The goal from the beginning, I’d think.
Just take the equipment with you and let China figure it out
Seems it’s one bad news day after the next for Canada since they (openly) cozied up to the EU.
Next up: Canada will nationalize the steel industry
Cleveland Cliffs looks like a going concern.
I’d be reluctant to bet against them.
Short video if interested
[video src="https://www.clevelandcliffs.com/_assets/_241d5ca0b6e98c090f28938e13d6f6dd/clevelandcliffs/db/1155/11137/file/19124a2ab6b39e77bdeb23144599322f.mp4" /]
It would be very encouraging to hear right now that records amounts of cash have been withdrawn from TD (Toronto Dominion) Bank accounts. We would then have reason to believe that Canadian citizens did learned something from recent confrontations with “their” government.
Carney will probably tell Canadians Merry Christmas by seizing their bank accounts.
The Canadians have become a bunch of chumps, Carney will destroy that country. Keep your elbows up ,I am sure those elbows up will fill those empty stomachs. One thing is for sure I have zero respect for any of you after all of your trash talk about our president and are country. Keep following that fat fu_k Doug Ford and that liberal loser Carney. Pucker and get ready to kiss that Chinese ass!!!
Brilliant!
What kills me is how the government morons think it’s a good idea to sue the steel company. What do these god-forsaken a**holes think is going to happen? Even if they win that case, where is the money going to come from to run a failing company?
https://youtu.be/5HHDaXMnyKI. 😂
I had to save that one. LMAO!
Government morons elected to office by citizen morons
Canada is on an economic kamikaze mission.
The West is on a kamikaze mission and has been for a long time. WEF, Green, Build Back Better.
Not to mention civilizational suicide. Calling itself the source of all evil. Promoting every real evil to replace its good.
And importing barbarians to suppress and replace its citizens.
The big problem in Canada is a HUGE number of Canadians will have to admit they were fools to support Carney and the liberals. People will act against their own interests to avoid the humiliation of admitting they were fools, duped by liars.
“We’re gonna ride forever
You can’t keep horsemen in a cage
Should the angels call, well it’s only then
I might pull in the reins”
This may be out of place, but it made me raise my arms in salute. “Due South” with Paul Gross.
Alberta may be a part of North America that I should visit before the end.
Paul Gross was grossly underestimated as an actor.
“Gunless” is a beautiful masterpiece. Enjoy!
Threatening to sue a company already going down the crapper and laying off workers? How STUPID can you get?
Joly’s mouth is writing checks her “very important” office can’t cash.
Bye bye Snow Mexican government!
Communism 101: Tax,regulate, and steal the company blind. Then sue them for shutting down their mill.
Vulgar Unhumans they are.
They should hav simply ask Canada government to buy the steel so plant can stay open and working?
When Chrystia Freeland didn’t like truckers protesting against the government, she used her position as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, to freeze the bank accounts of private citizens who supported the trucker.
When Mélanie Joly didn’t like Stelco Steel shutting down their Hamilton mill, she used her position as Canadian Industry Minister to threaten a lawsuit against a company crippled by the government’s decision to instigate a trade war with the U.S.
No compromise, no admission that the Canadian government’s policies caused these problems, no efforts to correct course!
Bullying is the only thing these women know!
It didn’t work for Chrystia and it ain’t gonna work for Mélanie!
It seems that the most evil people on earth are leftist white women.
Canadian gov has become a venture capitalist firm.
They found a better way than buying a company, bankrupt it and sell to their foriegn friends for a profit.
Great racket, I don’t think the people of canada no what’s happening to them.
They don’t even know the rules that they themselves wrote. That’s where we’re at here. I never thought I’d actually have to leave Canada but I was wrong.
Maybe the Stelco president can outline 50 ways to leave Canada.
Gov takeover when they tell you when to run or not. It is all part of the plan.
Hilarious! I do Rideshare and an obnoxious Canadian business owner (construction/related) was telling me how the US screws their partners. I reminded him Canada leadership discovered they could not hold to their environmental, immigration and national security platforms if they agreed with the US on trade. This conversation was last week and the number of stories coming out about Canadian economy unraveling so quickly (the big jobs hit). Like the govt didn’t know these numbers before published.
Going to out to vote tomorrow to move Alberta towards independence. The streets have people waving Alberta flags while the traffic passes by…a thing of beauty.
So far things are calm but I’ll keep you posted.
My brother will be wearing his MAGA ball cap to his voting station.
I voted Tuesday morning. We planned to get to the early voting station when it opened at 9:00 AM. Got there at 9:12 AM. The parking lot was nearly full. We stood in line for a bit more than 1hr.
As you know there are 10 questions to vote for. I wasn’t going to vote for the first 9 because they’re moot under the Confederation Crown system anyway.
Several of them depend on co-ordination with other provinces that have zero intention of changing anything and aren’t having referendums at all of any kind.
I voted yes on the first 9 ballots and option 2 on ballot #10.
I’ve never seen anything like it, and I first voted in the ’70s. I’m thinking it’s intentionally complex. That should work against the Forever Canadian dullards.
Each of the 10 ballots, all varying colors you’ll be given, have to be initialed by the election official. Don’t forget to bring the elector’s note you received in the mail and you’ll need your drivers license.
Remember, keep your X inside the circles or you’ll spoil your ballots.
Question 10 option 2, if we win, will maybe allow us to have an actual Independence vote at some undefined time in the mists of the future if that Leftist Judge who put a stay on the Independence vote at the request of that Indian Band is over-ruled by the Alberta Supreme Court.
It’s all rigged but I still have hope. PM Carney is going to visit Calgary and Edmonton between now and Oct. 19. So is Conservative leader Poilievre and Premier Smith. They’re all going to lie to us about how great it is to be Canadian and tout Alberta’s history in the nation; tugging on the heart strings of sentimentality.
They’ll be at various Forever Canadian rallies with Thomas Lukaszuk.
Anyway, Godspeed and good hunting.
FAFO
Stelco has to do the things that allow it to survive. Government policy is causing them to shutter plants and the Canadian Government is blaming Stelco. The Canadian Propaganda is blaming Stelco too.
It is the same thing in the US. The Democrats force banks to loan money to ESG, DEI. Some of us blame the banks, but the blame lies with Democrats. There are bad banks just like there are companies that run themselves into the ground to please government.
Simon says
Streisand Effect
It’s like the Canadian political leaders have zero comprehension of the consequences of their policies. A child is at the controls of a plane in rapid descent. Stupidity is really stunning.
Canada 🇨🇦
HEADING DOWN THE
S H I _ _ E R .
Period
Typical lieberal, doesn’t even know what the law says, making up her own version instead!
Blame Shift much, lady?
Their response is basically “here’s some sand, pound it.”
If I am reading this story correctly this situation expose how dishonest trade partners of the USA have programs in place to undermine any so called free trade agreements.
So whenever it suits the trading governments fancy they take under the radar steps to undermine free trade agreements .
RAND PAUL ,you the fake libertarian ,you can take all your fake superficial free trade advocacy and stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Previously when traveling into Canada, was swarmed and nearly detained at entry after answering to work when asked what my business was there. I quickly answered “to be trained” and avoided a messy incident.
If only Canada would work with US and protect its businesses in a partnership with the same intensity.
The Indian high commissioner says Canada needs 15 million new immigrants in the next 10 years.The illegals from Mexico etc have stopped flooding into USA but you too are getting India’s surplus population
Stellco CEO explains to the government mouthpiece the difference between Algoma Steel shutting down permanently after taking hundreds of millions of subsidies from the government and Stellco refusing subsidies and laying off workers who will eventually be rehired once the government gets its head out of its ass. The entire video is worth watching.
One thing that seems to be missing from the discussion is the fact that every steel mill in Canada is owned by An American individual or firm. Im guessing they knew instantly when the firms started dumping Chinese steel, and selling it across the border.
Canada and Mexico conduits for Chinese steel.
This is what happens when you have people in government that are accustomed to making cupcake flavor decisions vs. running a country. The fact she is a woman only exemplifies all you need to keep women out of government.
What is Joly going to do; sue Stelco into profitability in order to restore lost jobs? What a simp.