Ontario Construction News staff writer
SAULT STE. MARIE – Algoma Steel says it will lay off about 1,000 workers as it prepares to close its blast furnace and coke-making operations next year, citing “unprecedented” U.S. tariffs that have upended the company’s business model.
The layoffs, issued Monday and effective March 23, 2026, amount to roughly 40 per cent of the steelmaker’s workforce. In a statement, Algoma said the decision is tied directly to the impacts of 50 per cent tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Algoma Steel has been significantly impacted by the unprecedented tariffs imposed by the United States,” the company said in an emailed response. “These tariffs have fundamentally altered the competitive landscape and sharply limited our ability to access the U.S. market.”
The Sault Ste. Marie plant closure marks an accelerated end to Algoma’s era as an integrated steelmaker, as the company moves toward electric arc furnace production. Algoma called the shutdown “necessary” given what it described as “extraordinary and external market forces.”
The announcement drew immediate reaction in Ottawa.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told the House of Commons that her “thoughts are with the workers affected by the unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs imposed by the White House,” adding that the federal government is in contact with Algoma leadership. “We will make sure that we support them as they’re developing new products and accessing new markets — we’ll fight for these jobs,” she said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the government’s response, saying “more promises and more Liberal thoughts will not put food on the table of those out-of-work steelworkers.”
Monday’s news comes less than a month after Algoma said it completed a $500-million financing transaction with the federal and Ontario governments. The low-interest loans, announced in September under the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan program, were intended to help the company limit workforce disruptions and reduce reliance on the U.S. market.
Algoma said the financing remains essential to its transition to new technology and a more domestically focused business model but warned that market pressures have forced difficult choices.
The company said it will work with governments, unions and community organizations to support workers affected by the coming layoffs.
