By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada plans to serve Stellantis with a notice to initiate a dispute-resolution process with the aim of compelling the car maker to rethink its decision to move production from a Toronto-area plant to Illinois.

"This action is not symbolic," said Industry Minister Melanie Joly, appearing before a committee of Canadian lawmakers. "We need to be clear and direct toward the company. When a commitment to the Canadian government is not respected, there are consequences."

Joly has threatened to sue Stellantis for its decision last month to shift production of its Jeep Compass from a plant in Brampton, Ontario to Illinois. The decision was part of Stellantis's announcement of a $13 billion investment to increase production in the U.S., amid President Trump's 25% tariff on foreign-made vehicles.

A spokeswoman for Stellantis was not immediately available for comment. Previously, Stellantis has said that Canada is important to the company, and would soon unveil plans for the Brampton factory.

The Canadian government, along with the province of Ontario, provided over 1 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of U.S. $710 million, to Stellantis in 2022 to modernize its plants in Brampton and Windsor, Ontario, to accommodate production of electric vehicles. Over a year later, Canada sweetened its offer with up to C$15 billion in incentives to Stellantis to upgrade the Windsor facility. Stellantis promised to maintain its production mandate in Brampton as part of the deal.

Canadian officials said the financing was conditional on Stellantis maintaining production and employment at the Brampton factory.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2025 12:17 ET (17:17 GMT)

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