Brampton mayor Patrick Brown says he is angry at Stellantis for allowing itself to be "bullied" into moving production of its Jeep Compass from Brampton to Illinois, impacting 3,000 workers.
Brown said in speaking directly with Stellantis officials following Tuesday's announcement, he was told that due to the tariffs put in place by U.S. President Donald Trump, there was no longer a business case to continue production in Canada.
Stellantis said it would invest US$13 billion and expand U.S. production by 50 per cent over the next four years.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Brown accused Stellantis of abandoning Canada.
"The press release makes it very clear that they're making historic record investments in the U.S., they're moving production of vehicles and new products to the U.S. You can put lipstick on this pig anyway you want, it's not good news, you can't spin it as good news. It's bad news for the Canadian auto sector, and I worry it's just the tip of the iceberg," Brown said.
Brown feared the move could encourage the Trump administration to double down on their approach.
"What we're feeling right now in Brampton, I'm concerned about the auto sector elsewhere. There's a lot of auto communities, like Brampton and Windsor where I know Trump has his eye on it. Don't think for a second he doesn't want those jobs in Windsor too," he said.
Brown said automakers around the world are watching how Canada responds.
"My worry is that, today it's Brampton, but if this approach is successful and if there's no rebuttal, no strong response from the Canadian government, you're going to see this approach replicated elsewhere in Canada," said Brown.
Unifor National President Lana Payne echoed Brown's comments in an interview with AM800 and called upon the Canadian government to do more.