FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2 December 2025
QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario Liberal Critic for Economic Development MPP Rob Cerjanec and Ontario Liberal Critic for Finance and Trade MPP Stephanie Bowman are calling on the Ford government to take immediate action following yesterday’s announcement that Algoma Steel will lay off 1,000 workers in Sault Ste. Marie.
MPP Rob Cerjanec said the layoffs are a serious blow to the region and a warning sign for Ontario’s economy:
The news of 1,000 jobs lost in Sault Ste. Marie is absolutely devastating, and every family and business will feel the impact.
Families are heading into the holidays with uncertainty, and local businesses will feel the loss. The province needs to be a stronger partner for the people of Sault Ste. Marie right now.
Sault Ste. Marie should not be in this position. I recently visited a community full of potential, with domestic and international businesses eager to invest and opportunities to expand provincial infrastructure — but that opportunity is being held back by government inaction.
The province must step up immediately — including committing to support new production lines at the steel plant and helping to diversify and grow the economy in order to attract private investment through new provincial investments in health care and doctors, stronger schools with more education assistants, and renewed support for the post-secondary system.
We need a real plan for workers who have lost their jobs and for a community that deserves better. Local leaders know what the Soo needs. The government must listen.
MPP Stephanie Bowman said the layoffs underscore the failure of the Ford government’s economic plan:
Despite receiving $100 million from the province, Algoma is laying off 1,000 workers. Ontario now has nine straight quarters of rising unemployment, with the unemployment rate at a 13-year high of 7.8 per cent, and the government has delivered less than 10 per cent of the manufacturing jobs it promised. That’s not a plan — it’s a failure.