Joly asks Competition Bureau to probe Stelco deal after CEO comments

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is asking the Competition Bureau to examine whether Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. acted in bad faith when it acquired Stelco Inc.

In a letter to the competition commissioner, Joly pointed to Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco Goncalves' testimony at a U.S. congressional hearing in January 2026 where he said the company acquired Stelco in part to prevent Canadian steel from flooding the U.S. market.

Joly said the CEO made similar claims to CBC News last month, indicating the company's disregard for fair competition in the Canadian market.

"For the workers at Stelco’s facilities in Hamilton and Nanticoke, this was a shocking admission, as it was for the government," Joly said in a statement posted on X on Friday.

Joly said in her letter to the Competition Bureau that it "may wish to thoroughly examine" Cleveland-Cliffs' conduct and whether it warrants enforcement action under the Competition Act. 

The bureau had reviewed the takeover deal in 2024 and issued a no-action letter, but the minister is now prompting more scrutiny "in light of new evidence regarding the intent of the firm's conduct."

Cleveland-Cliffs did not respond to a request for comment.

Stelco announced plans on Sept. 28 to lay off up to 500 workers at its Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ont., steel mills, citing U.S. tariffs, weak demand for Canadian steel and competition from imported steel products.

However, Cleveland-Cliffs and the union have more recently confirmed only 175 workers have been laid off so far, all in Hamilton. 

In an Oct. 22 letter, Joly had accused Cleveland-Cliffs of championing U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel despite its commitment to support Canada's steel industry, then using those same tariffs to justify axing jobs.

She demanded the steelmaker make good on the job commitments it made when it bought Stelco and gave the company 15 days to respond or face potential legal action from the federal government. 

The layoffs have fuelled an escalating, and very public, dispute between Joly and Goncalves.

Last week, Goncalves said he hopes to recall all workers before Dec. 25 if a plan to boost sales of Canadian-made steel to domestic customers succeeds.

Joly's letter to the Competition Bureau on Friday came on the same day as Ottawa's 15-day deadline for Cleveland-Cliffs to address the layoffs. 

If the company fails to comply with its employment commitments, Ottawa has said it could ask a court to order it to meet its commitments, pay penalties of up to $10,000 a day or force a sale of Stelco.

Michael Guglielmin, Conservative MP and chair of the Conservative Steel Caucus, pressed Joly to deliver on her promise to sue the company.

“It has now been 31 days since Minister Joly sent her first letter to Stelco, promising legal action if they didn't reverse their layoffs," he said. 

"Now she's sending a fourth letter, shifting accountability to the competition commissioner."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

— With files from Brett Bundale in Ottawa

By Ritika Dubey | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.