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Unifor is demanding the federal government intervene to stop Stellantis NV from selling its Brampton plant, but the automaker has told employees it doesn’t see a “long-term business case” for making vehicles at the facility.

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Labour negotiations with Stellantis were put on hold last Friday after the union said it was informed the automaker had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the sale of the idle plant to Canadian armoured vehicle manufacturer Roshel Inc.

“Stellantis is 100 per cent serious about exiting Brampton. Currently, that is their only plan,” Unifor national president Lana Payne said at a news conference Thursday, adding the union is not accepting the decision.

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“Selling that plant in the middle of a trade war, and in the middle of collective bargaining, is indefensible. This would make Brampton the first auto plant to fall in this trade war. And when plants close, they rarely, if ever, come back.”

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Payne said Stellantis, which owns brands including Dodge, Jeep and Peugeot, had assured the union as recently as Aug. 12 that it was committed to the plant.

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The Brampton plant has been idled since 2023 after it began undergoing a retooling to produce the Jeep Compass. Stellantis has since announced plans to move production of the vehicle to the U.S., leaving the future of about 2,200 Brampton workers in limbo.

But Stellantis on Thursday sent a letter to employees saying the company has considered “a range of options” since it reversed those plans, a move made after United States President Donald Trump made it clear he would impose tariffs on foreign-made cars and trucks.

“The automotive industry continues to face unpredictable trade policies, challenging regulatory requirements and affordability pressures,” Trevor Longley, chief executive of Stellantis Canada, said in the letter.

“While each option was carefully reviewed, none provided a sustainable long-term business case that would support continued operations at the facility.”

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Vito Beato, president of Unifor Local 1285 in Brampton, said the letter represented the first time the automaker has communicated with workers in three years. He said Stellantis’s lack of commitment to the Brampton facility and uncertainty over its future are taking a heavy toll on workers.

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“We were supposed to be back to work right now, as of today, and when you look at our plant, it’s ready to go and it’s ready to build. Our members are ready to get to work,” he said.

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“Our members are very anxious and very worried right now, but we’re strong in sticking together and making sure that we can try to flip the script on this and get back to work as soon as we can and stay alive for another day.”

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Payne said Unifor has not been part of any discussions between Stellantis and Roshel, which is headquartered near the Stellantis plant in Brampton, and demanded more clarity from the federal government about its involvement in the potential deal.

“This is one of the reasons we need to understand what role, if any, the federal government has played here. We need to know what they know,” she said. “I’m not that happy with the role Roshel has played here, whether intended or not. It has interfered with and brought additional complications to our bargaining with Stellantis.”

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Roshel has said it is seeking a Canadian military contract worth as much as $4.9 billion to build light-utility vehicles. The company has told Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government it could quickly reactivate the facility if it lands the contract.

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Roshel chief executive Roman Shimonov has said his company is the only serious potential buyer for the facility and described the MOU as the first step in a “very complicated” process.

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“It’s a document that clearly specifies the plan, the responsibilities, the framework and everything else,” he said. “We have a clear plan, and this MOU is outlining the whole process.”

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Payne, however, said selling the plant and converting it into a military manufacturing facility, even if it could mean rehiring laid-off workers, is not an acceptable option for Unifor, and is seeking clarity from the government about what role, if any, Ottawa has played in the potential sale.

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She said such a move would significantly reduce Canada’s automotive footprint, adding that if Stellantis is willing to break its commitments in Brampton, it could also do so at its Windsor Assembly Plant, where the company produces the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, and its Etobicoke Casting Plant.

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“If Roshel wants to expand its operations in Brampton, we support that, but not at the Brampton assembly plant,” she said, adding the prospect of a defence contract can’t compare with the production of hundreds of thousands of commercial vehicles.

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Unifor also said its current collective agreement with Stellantis ends Sept. 20, but that is not a strike deadline.

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“However, bargaining remains extremely challenging right now and, as I’ve stated, we are at an impasse,” Payne said. “Therefore, strike action remains a real possibility.”

• The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75%-4%, its first increase since 2023.
• The FOMC approved the move unanimously after three members favored a hike at the July meeting.
• Updated projections point to the possibility of another rate increase this year.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/16/fed-rate-decision-september-2026.html

he U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its interest-rate decision today, September 16, 2026, at:

• 1:00 p.m. Winnipeg/Central Time
• 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• Fed press conference: 1:30 p.m. Winnipeg time

Markets strongly expect a 0.25-percentage-point increase, potentially lifting the federal-funds target from 3.50%–3.75% to 3.75%–4.00%, but this is not confirmed until the announcement. Federal Reserve calendar

Expect increased volatility in the Canadian dollar, gold, technology stocks and interest-sensitive TSX sectors around 1:00–2:00 p.m. Central Time.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has gathered the biggest rainmakers from around the world to showcase the country’s major deals and projects at the Canada Investment Summit.

The pitch to the hundreds of CEOs, investors and wealth managers in attendance: Canada, with its vast natural resources, has plentiful opportunities for foreign capital to be put to good use.

So, what are those opportunities, especially on the backdrop of growing protectionism from Canada’s southern neighbour? Here is a running list of the major announcements that have come out of this week’s summit, plus the ones on the periphery.

From the summit

Nationwide internet network

Little detail has been shared about Mr. Carney’s announcement to finance a new internet network that he says would provide nationwide sovereign internet connectivity.

“We will reinvest the tens of billions of dollars of capital we raise into the infrastructure that Canada needs for the next generation,” Mr. Carney said as part of his opening remarks.

That will mean “helping to finance new nation-building infrastructure, including a sovereign broadband backbone that connects Canadians from coast to coast to coast, with more direct and secure links to Europe and Asia,” he said.

A broadband backbone is the high-capacity core of the internet network that carries traffic between cities and countries.

Private investment of major Canadian airports

Mr. Carney said the government would open opportunities for private investment in four of Canada’s largest airports, which are located in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

The government will retain ownership of land and assets, but seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate the airports. Mr. Carney said the capital raised through private investors will be reinvested into infrastructure, including regional airports.

The concession concept is a common approach to running airports in Europe, Asia and Australia. Outside investors run restaurants, stores and other passenger-facing elements in the airport. Governments typically maintain ownership of the land and assets, and regulate returns on essential services, such as baggage handling.

Productivity mega deduction

Mr. Carney announced a “productivity mega deduction” that lets companies immediately deduct 100 per cent of the cost of new investment across far more assets than previously allowed.

The existing suite of tax incentives let businesses write off the costs of new capital investment for about 15 per cent of assets right away, focusing on manufacturing and processing, clean energy, productivity and research investments.

The new mega deduction covers about 65 per cent of assets, including fibre-optic cable, mining property, oil and gas pipelines, software, computer equipment, aircraft and vehicles, patents, rail track, bridges and roads.

It also roughly cuts Canada’s marginal effective tax rate on new business investment in half, from 13 per cent to 6.4 per cent. The government says that is the lowest rate of any major advanced economy.

Periphery announcements

Bell Canada expanding data centre capacity

BCE Inc. announced it plans to quadruple the capacity of its artificial-intelligence data centre operations in Saskatchewan. The company has ambitions to provide up to 1.2 gigawatts of compute power across three new facilities in the province through a series of investments that could top $5-billion.

The expansion, proposed through a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the province, would build on the company’s current 300-megawatt project currently under construction in Sherwood, Sask., and will follow the same structure, where Bell will build the physical facility and arrange for power and internet connections. Commercial partners, meanwhile, will provide the compute technology.

Advanced tax rulings

At an event the day before the summit, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a new federal measure to offer “advance tax rulings” for investments of $1-billion or more. That would give investors binding decisions on how Canadian tax law will apply on a transaction before they commit capital, giving them more certainty.

Brookfield-CPPIB’s $50-billion “Maple Fund”

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a co-organizer of the summit, and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. are jointly launching a $50-billion “Maple Fund” that will make major investments in infrastructure and key sectors in Canada, two sources told The Globe and Mail.

They said Brookfield and CPPIB will each put up as much as $25-billion over the next five years to make equity investments in sectors that Canada considers strategic, as well as critical infrastructure projects.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.

Other major pension funds earmark billions in investment

Some of Canada’s other big pension funds also announced billions of dollars they intend to invest ahead of the summit.

• Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan announced that it’s aiming to invest an additional $10-billion in Canada by the end of 2027, increasing the size of its $100-billion domestic portfolio.
• The $321-billion Public Sector Pension Investment Board said it is aiming to increase its investments in the country by roughly one-third, from $72.4-billion to $100-billion, over the next few years.
• Sun Life Financial Inc. also announced an infrastructure investing initiative that seeks to deploy $5-billion over five years to “support Canada’s economic growth and resilience, while delivering long-term returns,” the company said in a statement.

Nearly $325-billion from the big five banks

Leading up to the summit, five of Canada’s biggest banks announced various amounts of capital each would commit to a wide range of industries:

• Toronto-Dominion Bank is committing $150-billion over five years in new lending, underwriting, advisory and other financing activities. Its focus is on five key sectors: including energy, critical minerals and resources, defence and aerospace, digital technology and artificial intelligence, and infrastructure.
• Bank of Nova Scotia is committing more than $100-billion to focus on sectors targeted by Canada’s Major Projects Office, and is launching an institute aimed at assessing the country’s long-term competitiveness.
• Bank of Montreal is deploying up to $70-billion in new capital over 10 years for sectors considered critical to Canada’s economy, including electricity, energy and transportation infrastructure, mining and critical minerals, AI computing, defence and security, and oil and gas.
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is committing $2-billion over five years to small- and medium-sized defence-related and dual-use businesses in Canada.
• Royal Bank of Canada is launching a $1.4-billion fund aimed at investing in Canadian technology companies.

Radical Ventures new fund for AI megadeals

Radical Ventures said it raised US$1-billion for a new fund, for which it’s targeting to raise a total of US$4-billion.

The VC, which is focused on AI companies, said it secured investments from PSPIP, CCPIB, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, TD, CI Global Asset Management, OPSEU Pension Trust, and BMO.

Arlene Dickinson’s new agri-food fund

Entrepreneur-investor Arlene Dickinson launched a $500-million fund focused on financing Canadian food and agriculture companies that are targeting markets in Southeast Asia.

Farm Credit Canada is a limited partner, committing $150-million from a separate, $1-billion fund. Dickinson, the general partner, told The Globe in an e-mail that she is looking for international and Canadian investors to contribute the remaining funds.

Carlyle ups its stake in Canadian oil patch

Carlyle Group-backed Avenrock Energy Inc. said on Monday it agreed to buy Parallax Energy Operating Inc. The deal gives it a 75-per-cent operating interest in light oil assets in the East Shale Duvernay in Alberta.

Avenrock did not provide a value for the transaction, though a source with knowledge of the deal said Parallax’s enterprise value was about $1-billion. Gross production from the assets is roughly 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, with 85 per cent made up of oil and natural gas liquids.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the person as they are not authorized to discuss the details of the transaction.

These assets were not among those listed in a prospectus of mostly infrastructure projects for Ottawa’s investment summit, though Carlyle is participant in the event.

Power Sustainable’s $10-billion investment

Montreal-based Power Sustainable plans to channel at least $10-billion into Canadian infrastructure and companies over the next five years. The sustainability-focused asset manager, a subsidiary of financial services giant Power Corp. of Canada, plans to invest from its own funds, draw in capital from co-investors, and tap debt markets to finance a growing pipeline of potential projects.

Meeting the $10-billion target would roughly double Power Sustainable’s total investing activity since it launched its first energy infrastructure strategy in 2021.

Cautious consumers are continuing to flock to discount stores, boosting sales and profits for Dollarama Inc. DOL-T -1.69%decrease, and leading the Canadian retailer to hike its sales-growth forecast for this year.

Shoppers are “making careful spending decisions,” which is driving more traffic to Dollarama locations, chief executive officer Neil Rossy noted in a press release on Wednesday.

Household budgets have been strained by a spike in fuel prices tied to the conflict in the Middle East, while the trade war between Canada and the U.S. has created significant economic uncertainty that is weighing on consumer sentiment.

The Montreal-based retailer reported its comparable sales – an important metric that tracks the performance of stores open more than a year, excluding the impact of store openings or closings – grew by 5.4 per cent in the quarter ended Aug. 2. That exceeded analysts’ expectations of 4.2-per-cent sales growth, according to consensus estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ.

Decoder: What trade war? Suddenly, Canadian consumers are looking healthier than U.S. shoppers

The results were driven both by an increase in the number of transactions at the stores, and the amount that customers bought during each visit.

Dollarama now expects its comparable sales growth for this fiscal year to be in the range of 4 to 4.5 per cent, up from its last guidance of 3 to 4 per cent.

Net earnings grew to $349.3-million or $1.29 per share on a diluted basis, compared with $321.5-million or $1.16 per diluted share in the quarter last year.

In the second quarter, total sales grew to roughly $2-billion, a 17.6-per-cent jump compared with the same period last year. Those results were driven by an increase in the number of stores in Canada, as well as comparable sales growth.

Total sales also benefited from the inclusion of Australian discount store chain The Reject Shop Ltd., which Dollarama acquired last year. The second quarter of 2025 only recorded 13 days of sales results in Australia following the closing of that deal.

In Canada, Dollarama has slightly accelerated its plans for store expansion, with 65 to 75 new locations set to open this year, compared with previous expectations of 60 to 70. The retailer had 1,734 stores in Canada as of Aug. 2, 69 more locations than it had at the same time last year.

• Real median household income rose 2.6% to $87,460 in 2025, new Census Bureau data shows, as the official poverty rate declined to 10.2%.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted the report during House testimony.
• The Fed is meeting this week to decide whether inflation still warrants higher interest rates.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/15/income-poverty-census-fed-interest-rates.html

• EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc wants to open the door for Canada to become its first associate member, signaling a major deepening of ties.
• The proposal comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks a closer economic and security relationship with Europe amid a bitter trade war with the U.S.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the European Union is opening the door for Canada to become the first associate member of the 27-nation bloc.

The announcement marks a significant change in EU policy and signals a major deepening of ties between Brussels and Ottawa.

Speaking in her annual state of the European Union address in Strasbourg, France, the EU chief said the bloc wants to bring the relationship with Canada “to the highest level possible.”

“And, dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships so I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union,” Von der Leyen said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in attendance for the speech and is due to address EU lawmakers on Thursday, had previously said Ottawa was keen to pursue a “unique security and economic alliance” with Europe, but not full membership.

Canada is currently locked in a bitter trade war with the U.S. and has pledged to match President Donald Trump’s tariffs dollar for dollar.

Von der Leyen said the EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes” and pledged to work together on issues such as AI, climate change, geopolitics and Arctic security.

The EU and Canada already have a free trade agreement, one that eliminated 99% of all tariff lines when it provisionally came into force in 2017. The pact is known as the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA.

“We will move from CETA to an alliance for the future, to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” Von der Leyen said.

The EU has previously been reluctant to entertain the prospect of flexible membership categories, notably when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed for the EU to consider associate membership for Ukraine earlier in the year.

Asked whether Von der Leyen’s push to embrace Canada as the EU’s first associate member was history in the making, Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding said: “I think this is a big step, indeed.”

“Europe is trying to openly form new partnerships or deepen partnerships with all countries in the world that are sort of like-minded,” Schmieding told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

“It is not necessarily against the U.S., but it is clearly in favor of making us less dependent on the U.S. and less dependent on China, and that deeper partnership with other countries, like-minded democracies, is actually something we see in the economic re-arm,” he added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during her annual State of the Union address at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France on September 16, 2026.

Jean-christophe Verhaegen | Afp | Getty Images

In early June, Finnish President Alexander Stubb outlined his vision for a much larger European Union, saying the bloc should “think big” to project power on the global stage. As part of this, Stubb said the EU might consider increasing its membership to 40 states and named Canada, the U.K., Turkey, Norway and Iceland as potential candidates to join.

“Wouldn’t it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?” Stubb said on June 3, referring to Trump’s ambitions to annex Canada.

‘Middle powers’

At the start of the year, Carney told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that so-called “middle powers” must band together to counter the rise of hard power and build a more cooperative and peaceful world.

“We have a situation where it is totally unpredictable what the United States are doing and we have aggressive industrial policy by China — and therefore, it’s so important that we strengthen our ties with democratic countries, and Canada is one example,” Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament’s trade committee, told CNBC on Wednesday.

Alongside Ottawa, Lange said the EU should push to build stronger economic ties with Brazil, Indonesia Japan and South Korea.

“It’s so important that we work together and build a bloc and as Mr. Carney … mentioned in Davos, you have to be strong and sit at the table, otherwise you will be part of the menu,” he added.

Carney’s investment summit live updates

The Canada Investment Summit is in full swing in Toronto today. Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked things off with a keynote address to the hundreds of CEOs, investors and wealth managers (and one former prime minister) present. The day will consist of panel discussions and small group meetings, and a concierge service matching people up for sideline discussions, much of which will happen behind closed doors.

Key moments:

• Carney to open up four largest airports for private investment, announces corporate tax ‘mega deduction’
• Ottawa to help finance nationwide sovereign internet network
• The full schedule of events

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22 minutes ago

Carney asked about opening airports for investment

Prime Minister Mark Carney is now speaking with reporters after his opening remarks to the summit.

He’s being pushed on his announcement to open up airports for investment, with The Globe’s Bill Curry noting that the Liberals seriously considered the idea about a decade ago but ditched it after pushback.

Carney said that these are different times, and that the government is trying to build up the country in a more hostile world while at the same time retaining fiscal discipline.

He said to do that, Canada needs to be smart with the assets it has, and there’s also an opportunity to provide better experiences at airports and invest in other projects

U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August as the cost of gasoline rebounded after two straight monthly declines, bolstering financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates next week.

The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 per cent last month after edging up 0.1 per cent in July, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. In the 12 months through August, consumer inflation advanced 3.4 per cent after rising by the same margin in July.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI increasing 0.4 per cent over the month and climbing 3.4 per cent year-on-year. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI rose 0.3 per cent last month after gaining 0.2 per cent in July. The so-called core CPI increased 2.4 per cent year-on-year in August after rising 2.5 per cent in July.

Global economy shudders on oil spike, bond selloff

The U.S. central bank tracks the Personal Consumption Expenditures price indexes for its 2-per-cent inflation target.

The government reported on Thursday an increase in the Producer Price Index in August, with strong rises in several key components that feed into the calculation of PCE inflation. That added to last week’s robust employment report for August in boosting rate hike prospects next week.

The odds of a rate increase had diminished following comments by Fed Governor Christopher Waller at a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event last week that he was inclined to argue in favour of keeping rates steady if data confirmed inflation pressures were cooling.

Oil prices climbed back above US$100 a barrel on Thursday, while diesel prices are at record highs, suggesting inflation was set to remain elevated and broaden out.

Growing frustration over inflation

Some economists saw price pressures persisting because of tariffs on imports, most recently against Canada, one of the United States’ top trade partners.

Frustration over higher prices, especially for gasoline and food, has led to a sharp erosion in President Donald Trump’s approval ratings and could cost his Republican party control of the U.S. Congress in the November midterm elections.

After Thursday’s PPI data, economists’ estimates for August’s core PCE price index ranged from as low as a 0.15-per-cent gain to as high as a 0.28-per-cent increase. Core PCE inflation rose 0.2 per cent in July. Estimates for the year-on-year increase in core PCE inflation ranged from 3.2 per cent to 3.3 per cent. Core PCE inflation advanced 3.3 per cent in the 12 months through July.

The August PCE inflation report will include changes to the methodology, which some economists say could lower the core inflation rate by a couple of basis points.

Ahead of the CPI report, financial markets priced in a roughly 70-per-cent chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s Sept. 15-16 policy meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. The Fed’s benchmark overnight interest rate is currently in a 3.50 per cent to 3.75 per cent range.

Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh last month said the central bank will “have work to do” if policy-makers don’t get the confidence they need that inflation is heading down to 2.

But Trump is pressuring the Fed to cut rates, posting on social media last week “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT.” Economists have blamed what they called political intimidation for the surge in yields on long-term U.S. government bonds. Some expected the Fed to tighten policy next Wednesday to underscore its independence.