Stellantis workers give union authorization to strike as talks with automaker stalled
Written by The Canadian Press on October 19, 2026
TORONTO — Stellantis workers in Canada have voted to give their union a mandate to strike.
Unifor says 97.3 per cent of members who took part in the vote over the weekend were in favour of authorizing a potential strike.
The union is not yet in a legal strike position as neither it nor Stellantis have requested a “no board” report, which is one of the steps necessary under labour law required for a job action.
Unifor, which represents more than 9,000 Stellantis workers in Canada, said it still believes there is a path to reaching a new collective agreement with Stellantis “so long as the company honours its commitments and does right by its workers.”
“Strike action is always a last resort, but we will not back down and accept a deal that weakens Stellantis’ footprint within Canada’s auto industry due to broken commitments that further cause devastation for our members, families and communities that rely on good union auto jobs,” said James Stewart, Unifor’s Stellantis master bargaining chairperson.
The previous collective agreement between Stellantis and the union expired Sept. 20 without the two sides coming to terms on a new tentative deal.
The union’s bargaining committee and the company are at an impasse over several key issues, including job security and the future of the idled Brampton, Ont., assembly plant Stellantis wants to sell.
In response to the Unifor vote, Stellantis spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin reiterated the company’s previous statement that it hopes to return to the bargaining table.
“Stellantis remains committed to bargaining in good faith and is prepared to continue discussions toward a negotiated agreement that recognizes the contributions of our employees while supporting the long-term competitiveness of our Canadian operations,” she said.
Talks came to a standstill on Sept. 11 when Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding with defence contractor Roshel for a potential sale of the Brampton facility.
More than 2,000 workers were laid off from the Brampton plant when it halted operations in 2023.
The facility had been slated to be retooled for Jeep production, a process that began early in 2024, before the company paused the plan in early 2025. It later announced it was moving production of the Jeep Compass to Illinois, leaving the plant idled indefinitely.
The union has written to federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urging the government to block the potential sale and clarify whether the MOU breached Stellantis’ previous commitments to Ottawa.
Unifor ratified new collective agreements with Ford Motor Co. and General Motors in Canada during the summer, as part of its pattern bargaining process with each of the Detroit Three.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press