Ford says he knew layoffs were coming before loaning Algoma Steel $100M

The steel giant announced Monday it would lay off roughly 1,000 workers as a Sault Ste. Marie plant closure is being made to adapt to a “fundamentally altered” landscape.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford acknowledged that his government was aware that massive layoffs at Algoma Steel were imminent, well before the province agreed to loan the company $100 million in taxpayer funds.

The steel giant announced Monday it would lay off roughly 1,000 workers as a Sault Ste. Marie plant closure is being made to adapt to a “fundamentally altered” landscape in the face of tariffs from the United States.

Weeks earlier, at the end of September, the Ontario and federal governments had partnered to loan Algoma a total of $500 million, 20 per cent of which was put up by the Ford government.

“This direct support will help Algoma pivot its operations away from U.S. dependent markets and remain a commercially viable and economically stable source of jobs, growth and opportunity in Northern Ontario,” the government said when it made the announcement.

On Wednesday, however, Premier Doug Ford say the federal and provincial governments were informed by the company that hundreds of steel workers were about to lose their jobs – a fact the government failed to disclose to the public.

Ford referred to Algoma Steel as the “titanic,” which he said was “sinking up there,” and the government had limited choices to pursue.

“We either save, you know, two-thirds or we don’t save anything,” Ford said. “And I believe in saving the company up there, allocating funds to keep them going.”

When asked whether additional jobs could have been saved if the governments offered a larger loan, Ford referred Global News to Algoma Steel.