Ottawa should consider nationalizing Stelco as Hamilton steel layoffs loom

Summary

Up to 500 workers at Stelco's Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario, face layoffs starting October 9. Cleveland-Cliffs, which bought Stelco in 2024, says every laid-off worker would return if Canada and the United States reach a trade deal. The United Steelworkers estimate about 350 of their members are affected, and the company points to American tariffs on Canadian steel.

Nicolas Lamp, a Queen's University law professor who specializes in trade, argues this is not a trade dispute but an attempt by Washington to rewrite the rules. He separates the tariffs into retaliatory measures, which could be lifted in a settlement, and structural steel tariffs, which could survive any deal. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the workers were betrayed and promised to pursue the company to the fullest extent of the law.

Lamp offers Ottawa two paths: redirect the money meant to keep jobs alive toward retraining and relocation, or nationalize Stelco, as Britain did with the Scunthorpe plant of British Steel in April 2025. The video also frames steel as a defence and security issue. Viewers should watch for legal action, the redirection of federal funds, and whether Hamilton Works' cold-rolled operations shut for good.

Key points

• Up to 500 layoffs at Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works, starting October 9.
• The United Steelworkers estimate about 350 of their members are affected.
• Stelco was founded in Hamilton in 1910 and bought by Cleveland-Cliffs in 2024.
• Ottawa's 2024 approval required the company to maintain its workforce for five years.
• Britain seized control of British Steel's Scunthorpe plant in April 2025.
• Lamp argues the steel tariffs are structural, not retaliation, and may outlast any deal.

Questions answered