Canada
September 3, 2026
Unifor members ratify pact with GM Canada, Stellantis talks begin
Written by Ethan Bernard
Unifor members voted to ratify a three-year labor contract with General Motors in Canada as the Canadian union separately began talks with Stellantis.
The new contracts for GM Canada cover more than 4,600 Unifor members at facilities in Ontario, including Oshawa, St. Catharines, and Woodstock, and the GM Assembly Plant in Ingersoll.
“These agreements commit more than one billion (Canadian) dollars in vital investments to Canadian GM facilities, with a new single source next-generation transmission at the St. Catharines Propulsion Plant and the return of next-generation Heavy-Duty GMC Sierra production to Oshawa,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement on Aug. 30.
Likewise, GM Canada applauded the deal.
“With the ratification of new three-year collective agreements with Unifor, we have reached an outcome that supports our employees, strengthens our manufacturing operations, and provides a solid foundation for GM’s future in Canada,” Jack Uppal
president and managing director of GM Canada, said in a statement.
Stellantis-Unifor talks open
Unifor and Stellantis met on Sept. 1 to start talks on a new contract for more than 9,000 workers at facilities across Canada.
The Netherlands-based automaker is the last of the Detroit Three automakers to begin negotiations with Unifor after successful talks with GM and Ford Motor Co.
The union said the future of the idled Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario remains a union priority, with ~2,200 members on indefinite layoff.
Unifor added it has marked an internal deadline of Sept. 11 to reach a tentative agreement with the automaker.
“We expect there to be some difficult conversations in the days to come but our bargaining team is here to do the work and to get the right deal for all our members,” James Stewart, Unifor Stellantis master bargaining committee chairperson, said in a separate statement on Tuesday.
Stellantis did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector. It represents 320,000 workers in every major area of the nation’s economy.
