Matthew Shoemaker offered the following statement on the end of blast furnace steelmaking in Sault Ste. Marie:
“For 125 years, Algoma Steel has made its product using blast furnaces powered by coal and coke – made possible through the hard work and dedication of thousands of steelworkers.
This past weekend marked the end of coke making and blast furnace operations at Algoma as the company pivots toward electric arc furnace steelmaking – a historic shift that carries real impacts for workers and families, and underscores why this transition must be supported every step of the way. The promised benefits of this initiative – from stronger long-term resiliency in a volatile global market to improved environmental performance – won’t be fully realized unless the Federal and Provincial governments match their investment in the transition with investment in the community and workers who made it possible.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie is ready to work with them, and we’ve been aggressively advocating for the development of a new port in our community for the past several years. We have a plan in hand – a business case has been completed – and we’ve formed a partnership with the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority to leverage their expertise and help ensure this project comes to fruition.
Strategically located on the Great Lakes and connected to the Trans-Canada Highway and national rail corridors, the port will serve as a modern multimodal hub that reduces bottlenecks, improves domestic trade flow and strengthens supply chains. It will enhance connectivity between Northern and Southern Ontario, the Prairies, Atlantic Canada and international markets – unlocking value across Canada’s steel, forestry, mining, agriculture and energy sectors. This is exactly the kind of nation-building infrastructure that the Federal and Provincial governments are prioritizing right now to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and enhance economic security.
City representatives – including myself – will be meeting about the project with Provincial officials in Toronto at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference this week, and we’ve reached out to the Federal government about securing their support.
Like many industrial communities, Sault Ste. Marie has worked to broaden its economic base, and we’ve made real strides in sectors such as lottery and gaming, tourism and waterfront redevelopment while building on our strength as an industrial hub – with Tenaris adding a new production line in recent years. Building a port is our next step – an opportunity to meet a national need while creating the next generation of industrial careers in Sault Ste. Marie.
For generations, Algoma Steel has been the backbone of our community. Like a lot of people, I know this story personally. I wouldn’t have been able to attend post-secondary without the United Steelworkers salary my father earned at Algoma Steel. Now we need to make sure the next generation of Sault Ste. Marie families has access to the same kind of stable, industrial, middle-class opportunity – and the port project is exactly that: it would strengthen Canada’s supply chains while creating the next chapter of good-paying work right here at home in Sault Ste. Marie.”
