Stelco CEO Says He Has Right to Idle Operations in Hamilton After Carney Threatens Action

A Stelco flag flies beside a Canadian flag at the steel production facility in Hamilton, Ont., on Feb. 10, 2025. The Canadian Press/Nick Iwanyshyn

The head of Stelco’s American parent company says he has the right to idle operations and lay off employees at the Hamilton plant, in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney saying his government would use “all powers that we have” against the company.

He said the deal included maintaining “significant employment levels in Canada” and “significant operations in Hamilton,” but the trade dispute has changed his ability to sell south of the border, making it difficult to maintain operations.

“We had the ability to sell into the United States. That was an underlying condition for me to acquire Stelco,” Goncalves said. ”I would not have acquired the Stelco if I knew that Canada and the United States would become what they became: enemies in trade.”

Washington has imposed 50 percent tariffs on steel imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, and Ottawa responded with its own duties on many U.S.-made steel products.

Carney told reporters a day earlier in Vancouver he was disappointed by the company’s decision to lay off workers. He said the company had “legal obligations for employment,” and that his government would “use all powers that we have, and pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”

Goncalves said on Oct. 1 that he believed he was acting within the “boundaries of what I can do as a responsible business owner,” and that he would respond to Carney in court once the lawsuit is presented to him.

Carney had also said the federal government could offer money to companies like Stelco to help blunt the impact of the trade dispute with the United States. Goncalves argued the issue was not a “lack of money,” but Canada-U.S. trade uncertainty.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly previously told The Epoch Times in a statement that Ottawa tried to work with the company to find ways for it to continue operations, but Stelco rejected the government’s proposals.

Stelco announced on Sept. 28 plans to indefinitely idle finishing operations at its steel plant in Hamilton, Ont., due to “market uncertainty,” and said the move could affect as many as 500 employees.

Stelco said it had made the decision to “ensure the survival” of the company amid a challenging market caused by ongoing trade disruptions affecting the Canadian steel industry. The company cited U.S. tariffs and declining demand for its products.