TORONTO, ONTARIO – In a bold move, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called for economic countermeasures against the United States following Stellantis’ unexpected decision to relocate the production of its Jeep Compass from Canada to the U.S.

Ford squarely placed the blame on U.S. President Donald Trump for this strategic shift, which involves moving the SUV production from Brampton, Ontario to Illinois. This relocation is part of Stellantis’ larger plan to inject $13 billion into expanding its manufacturing capacity within the United States.

This development emerges amidst ongoing negotiations aimed at reducing tariffs between the two nations. President Trump has been vocal in his demands for major American automakers to bring their production back stateside, which has evidently influenced Stellantis’ decision.

Expressing his frustration, Ford remarked, “President Trump is quite the character. I’ve had enough of Canada constantly giving in. It’s time for us to push back.” The Premier urged that Canada should consider implementing its own tariffs if Prime Minister Mark Carney fails to secure a favorable trade agreement with Trump.

Ford said Canada needs to hit back with tariffs if Prime Minister Mark Carney can’t reach a trade deal with Trump.

Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, is in Washington this week for talks to reduce tariffs on certain sectors. Carney left Washington last week without a deal.

Carney said the move by the world’s fourth-largest carmaker was a direct consequence of tariffs and his government would work with Stellantis to create new opportunities in the Brampton area. Carney added that Ottawa expects Stellantis to fulfill its commitment to Brampton workers. The federal government threatened legal action against the company.

Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the production shift is “unacceptable” and warned Stellantis made commitments to Canadian production in exchange for substantial financial support.

“Anything short of fulfilling that commitment will be considered as default under our agreements,” Joly wrote in a letter to the company chief executive.

Fear has spread in Ontario over what will happen to Canada’s auto sector. Autos are Canada’s second-largest export and Carney has noted the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.

“Stellantis is bowing at the Trump administration with this pledge of massive investments in the U.S.,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“If this bullying tactic works with Stellantis I expect it to be replicated to every other automaker that has a presence in Canada and frankly other sectors that the U.S. has an interest in.”

Workers at the Stellantis assembly plant in Brampton were greeted Wednesday with a robocall from their employer that said work they’d been waiting for wouldn’t be coming back. The company closed the factory in 2023 and laid off its roughly 3,000 workers as it retooled the facility.

Stellantis said it would reopen its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois to expand U.S. Jeep production, creating thousands of new jobs there.

Vito Beato, president of Unifor Local 1285, which represents the Brampton plant workers, said the news came as a surprise because Stellantis had said previously it was committed to producing its Jeep Compass in Brampton.

Stellantis said it continues to invest in Canada, including adding a third shift to the Windsor, Ontario assembly plant, and that it is in talks with the government on the future of the Brampton facility.

Carney won the country’s election earlier this year fueled by Trump’s annexation threats and trade war, but has tried to improve relations ahead of a review of the free trade deal next year. More than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. and Canada recently dropped many of its retaliatory tariffs to match U.S. tariff exemptions for goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact.

Ford said Canada should start responding to Trump’s tariffs with its own harsh measures.

“That’s the only thing that this person understands,” Ford said of Trump. Ford is scheduled to meet with Carney this week.