Carney Links Stellantis Factory Future to USMCA Outcome
Jeep Compass Production Shift to US Sparks Trade Concerns
Key Takeaways:
- Prime Minister Mark Carney said Stellantis will decide on future vehicle production at its Brampton, Ontario, plant after the review of the USMCA trade deal is completed.
- The automaker canceled plans to build the Jeep Compass in Brampton and will produce it in Illinois instead to avoid U.S. tariffs, prompting talks with Canada on alternative models.
- Carney said the government is working with Stellantis and provincial leaders to support laid-off workers as USMCA renegotiations and tariff discussions with the U.S. continue.
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Stellantis NV will decide on future vehicle production at its factory in Brampton, Ontario, once a review of the North American free trade deal is finalized.
Carney said he spoke with Antonio Filosa, CEO of Stellantis, shortly before the companyannouncedthat it canceled plans to make the Jeep Compass sport utility vehicle in Brampton, which is near Toronto. That vehicle will instead be manufactured in Illinois, avoiding U.S. tariffs.
Filosa assured him the company was looking at building a different model at the plant, Carney said.
“That decision would be taken in the context of the finalization of the USMCA,” the prime minister said at a news conference in Toronto on Oct. 16, referring to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that’s up for review in 2026.
The Canadian government is working with the company, union and provincial leaders to ensure workers have “comparable support” to what they’ve received since being placed on temporary layoff, Carney said. The plant was shut for retooling in late 2023.
RELATED:Canada May Sue Stellantis Over Jeep Production Shift
Stellantis declined to comment on its conversations with the government. It has confirmed it’s adding a third shift at its facility in Windsor, Ontario, and described Canada as “very important” to the company. “We have plans for Brampton and will share them upon further discussions with the Canadian government,” a spokesperson said this week.
Trump has imposed tariffs on the non-U.S.-made portion of finished vehicles from Canada and Mexico despite the provisions of USMCA. Canadian negotiators have struggled to secure relief from the auto levies, and are currently focused onsteel and aluminumtariffs — sectors where the Trump administration has signaled more openness to a deal.
The three North American nations havebegun consultationsahead of a scheduled 2026 review of the USMCA, which is expected to trigger a renegotiation of some parts of the deal. The outcome of the review will make the “biggest difference” to the auto andforestrysectors, and to “all of Canada,” Carney said.
Carney was set to meet later Oct. 16 with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has called on the prime minister to retaliate more strongly against the U.S. in the wake of the move by Stellantis. Carney lifted most of Canada’scounter-tariffsin September.
“There are times to hit back and there are times to talk. And right now is the time to talk,” the prime minister said Oct. 16. “We’re having intense negotiations with regards to the steel and aluminum sectors as well as the energy sector.”
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