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The province is helping the City of Hamilton fund a tariff response team as the steel industry, which is integral to the Ontario city, faces job losses and other tariff-related threats.
“Ontario-made steel is vital to Ontario’s supply chain,” but steelworkers are “under direct attack” by tariffs, Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said at Hamilton city hall while announcing the $390,000 investment Tuesday.
Mayor Andrea Horwath, Hamilton Mountain MPP Monica Ciriello and newly elected Hamilton East—Stoney Creek MPP Jeff Beattie were also at the event.
Fedeli said the $390,000 will come from the province’s Trade-Impacted Communities Program and will support a $588,000 city-run effort to help businesses impacted by tariffs, particularly in the steel and manufacturing industries.
Horwath also referred to the plight of local steelworkers, noting hundreds face layoffs at Stelco after Stelco Holdings Inc. announced it would idle part of its Hamilton plant on Sept. 28.
Ron Wells, president of United Steelworkers Local 1005, previously told CBC that 333 layoffs were expected in Hamilton. USW Local 8782 president John McElroy said up to 50 layoffs are expected at the Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke.
Earlier this week, Stelco’s U.S. owner announced the company’s third quarter this year was its strongest since Cleveland-Cliffs acquired it in 2024.
The Stelco Hamilton Works is pictured on Oct. 9. Earlier this month, the company announced layoffs at the plant amid the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Horwath described the earnings announcement as “a slap in the face to Hamilton workers, Hamilton’s history and Hamilton families.”
“We will continue to put the pressure on to make sure that our Hamilton workers don’t end up being the casualties of this trade war.”
Tariff response team to help ‘cut through red tape’
Horwath said the newly announced tariff response team, coupled with measures in the Head of Lake Ontario Plan that she announced in September, will help ensure workers and their families receive every dollar of funding available to support their families and for retraining.
She described the team — which she said will be assembled this quarter — as “a pair of scissors that will help cut through red tape,” connecting businesses with government support programs and helping them find new markets.
“With all of the existing programs, it’s a lot of work for a business to try to figure out how to navigate the system and how to get to the right place,” Fedeli said. “This organization will be able to bring you to the right door.”
The Stelco mills are shown via a recent drone image. Earlier this week, Stelco’s U.S. owner announced the company’s third quarter was its strongest since Cleveland-Cliffs acquired it in 2024. (Michael Charles Cole/CBC)
CBC Hamilton asked Fedeli if the government is looking at nationalizing Stelco — an idea that federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis and Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles have been promoting.
While he didn’t directly say no, Fedeli also didn’t say his government is considering the proposal.
“We feel that by continuing to work with the companies, we’re achieving the goals that we’re headed to.”
As an example, Fedeli pointed to provincial investment in steel pipe producer Tenaris in Sault Ste. Marie. He said sales of Ontario steel were up three per cent last year.
Stiles said Ontario Premier Doug Ford should “work with the federal government to push Cleveland-Cliffs to give up their ownership interest in Stelco, and establish public ownership and Canadian management.”
Wells previouslty told CBC the union has long supported the idea of a federal takeover of the steelmaker.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Ottawa took ‘note’ of Stelco’s U.S. owner’s earnings call, which she said confirmed Cleveland-Cliffs’ support for U.S. tariffs against Canadian steel workers. Joly said her department is working closely with the union on a potential legal case and that she’ll have more to say ‘the coming days.’
At a news conference Tuesday, Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Ottawa “took good note” of Cleveland-Cliffs’s earnings call, saying it confirmed its support for U.S. tariffs against Canadian steelworkers.
Joly said options to deal with the issue include forcing Cleveland-Cliffs to sell Stelco in Canada and financial penalties.
Her department is working closely with the union on a potential legal case and she’ll have more to say in “the coming days,” she said.
